Actor Martin Clunes, known for Doc Martin, will play disgraced former BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a two-part factual series on Channel 5. The production, provisionally titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, will explore the scandal that ended Edwards' career. It features interviews with key figures involved in reporting and investigating the story.
Martin Clunes will take on the role of Huw Edwards, the former BBC newsreader whose long career at the public broadcaster ended in scandal. Edwards, who began his broadcasting journey in Wales and rose to become one of the BBC's highest-paid presenters, anchored News at Ten for decades. He covered major events, including the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The two-part series, produced by Channel 5, aims to recount how Edwards became embroiled in a high-profile controversy. It follows his guilty plea in July 2024 to three counts of making indecent images of children, related to WhatsApp exchanges with a man named Alex Williams. Edwards admitted to possessing 41 photographs, seven of which were the most serious category. In November 2024, he received a six-month suspended prison sentence and was placed on the sex offenders' register for seven years.
The scandal first emerged in July 2023 with a report in The Sun alleging that a top BBC star had paid a teenager for sexual pictures. Edwards' wife soon identified him as the individual involved, leading to his resignation from the BBC in April 2024. A Metropolitan Police investigation followed, culminating in charges in June 2024.
Ben Frow, Channel 5's chief content officer, described the project as "an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status." He emphasized the series' exclusive access to those who reported and investigated the events, aiming to reveal the human cost. The drama will be directed by Michael Samuels, whose previous works include The Windermere Children and Any Human Heart.