Who is BBC's Huw Edwards, man at the centre of sex scandal?

Last weekend, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was in the eye of a storm when it emerged that one of its senior presenters had been suspended after it emerged that the person had paid a young person £35,000 (Rs 37.35 lakh) for explicit photos over three years.

Over the course of the week, the broadcaster stayed mum on the identity of the suspended presenter, leading many to speculate. To make matters worse, other young people also came forward alleging that the presenter had contacted them on dating apps, even pressuring one of them to meet up.

Amid all this speculation, the presenter has been identified, by his wife and it has come as a shock to the nation and the media world. On Wednesday, Huw Edwards, an anchor on the BBC’s flagship nightly news program and one of its most prominent and distinguished figures, was named by his wife, Vicky Flind, as the man at the centre of the scandal.

In a statement published by BBC News, Flind said, “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.”

“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children,” the statement continued. “Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.”

“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.”

Flind added, “To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday. In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”

We take a closer look at who is Huw Edwards and how he became to be known as UK’s most high-profile broadcasters and BBC’s choice to front coverage of major national events.

UK’s familiar face

Edwards, now 61, was born in Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales into a Welsh speaking family in 1961. He left home to study undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in French at Cardiff University before starting his career in broadcasting.

After completing his education, he became a reporter for local radio station Swansea Sound. In 1984, Edwards joined BBC News as a trainee. He became parliamentary correspondent within two years and by the early 1990s, he was the BBC’s chief political correspondent at Westminster.

He had a strong Welsh accent during his early phase of his career, which he has in the past described as not a “great deal of help”, as it was comparatively unusual on the BBC.

He became a regular face on the BBC News channel, then called BBC News 24, after it launched in 1997.

It is said that his confidence and level-headedness impressed the broadcasting bosses and in the early 2000s, he was promoted to the Ten O’Clock News, widely seen as the BBC’s flagship bulletin, and was increasingly asked to present and commentate on major national events for the BBC.

He was the presenter for BBC during the wedding of the Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (as they were known at the time) in 2011, the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh (2021), the Queen’s Diamond and Platinum Jubilee (2012 and 2022) and the coronation of King Charles (2023). He was also on hand during Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018.

He was also on air when South Africa’s Nelson Mandela passed away in 2013 and was also co-host during the Brexit referendum results in 2016.

But what can be described as the single biggest moment in Edwards’ presenting career was announced the demise of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year. He, according to a BBC report, started his shift early that day following the rumours of the Queen’s declining health and later put on a dark suit to confirm her death to the nation.

He carried on the coverage of the late Queen’s funeral and was praised by viewers for his anchoring skills.

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BBC has long trusted his presenting skills and has been highly valued by the broadcaster. In fact, he was one of the only stars last year to receive a pay rise. The annual accounts released on Tuesday revealed Edwards’ pay increased by £25,000 (Rs 26 lakh) to £435,000 (Rs 4.64 crore), making him the BBC’s highest paid journalist.

And Edwards has also made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. In the movie, he presents a BBC news report on a fictionalised attack on the British intelligence service MI6.

Edwards’ depression struggle

Amid this scandal, Edwards himself has remained mum as he has been admitted to after suffering a ‘serious episode’ with his mental health.

It was last year that the presenter revealed that he has been battling depression and anxiety since 2002. Speaking in the interview, he had said that it “tends to hit (him) in a strong wave and then go away,” and remarked that it has frequently left him “bedridden.”

He had added, “Things that you usually enjoy, you dread. You come into work and obviously you do a professional job, but you’re kind of pushing your way through it.

“And, of course, if it’s very bad – as it has been a few times over the course of 20 years – you can’t work. During the worst one I had, I couldn’t get out of bed.”

Allegations against Edwards

The entire issue stems from a report published by The Sun. The British tabloid reported that a male BBC presenter had allegedly given a child £35,000 pounds (Rs 37 lakh) for sexual pictures. The payments have said to have begun when the teen was 17, which is over the age of sexual consent.

British law states that while the age of consent is 16, it is a crime to take, make, share or possess indecent images of anyone younger than 18.

The Sun had quoted the mother of the teenager, saying the money was used by the child to purchase drugs, which led to cocaine addiction. The payments were made over three years.

According to the mother, the BBC employee requested “performances” from her child, who would “get their bits out for him”. She also said that she saw the presenter “stripped to his underpants for a video call” with the teen. “I blame this BBC man for destroying my child’s life… Taking my child’s innocence and handing over the money for crack cocaine that could kill my child,” she said.

She further alleged that she had complained to the broadcaster in May, but the presenter continued to appear on television.

The BBC said that after receiving the initial complaint it had started an investigation. However, a full-blown investigation started only after The Sun approached the broadcaster for comments. The initial allegations were not strong as the ones made by the tabloid.

Later, a second person, in their early 20s, stated that they were first contacted anonymously by the presenter on a dating app. They were reportedly pressurised to meet up but never did. After the person hinted that they might call out the presenter online, they were sent “threatening” and “abusive” messages.

Another report by The Sun stated that the presenter allegedly travelled to meet a 23-year-old during the lockdown in February 2021. The COVID-19 restrictions prevented people from meeting anyone outside the household and the presenter allegedly broke the rules and travelled to this person’s home. The TV anchor also sent money to this youngster and asked for a picture. He was sent a semi-naked photograph, reports The Sun.

The tabloid also reported that the presenter started a conversation with a 17-year-old follower on Instagram. The individual said that the TV star was the one who reached out to them out of the blue and started chatting. The first message came around October 2018. It stated that the BBC personality had responded to messages from the teen, who was asking him about his work, with a heart emoji, followed by a kiss at the end of the message.

The youngster, who is now 22, told The Sun that while they thought it was a bit strange, they did not read into the messages.

BBC investigation

While the London’s Metropolitan Police has concluded its assessment into the allegations and found there was no indication a criminal offence had been committed, the BBC said it would continue with its internal investigation into the allegations.

The BBC said on Wednesday, “We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed. The police had previously asked us to pause our fact finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”

British prime minister Rishi Sunak had also earlier said the allegations were “very serious and concerning”.

With inputs from agencies