Martin Clunes reveals initial ‘sympathy’ for ‘outed’ news presenter Huw Edwards

Martin Clunes is set to portray disgraced news presenter Huw Edwards in 5’s upcoming factual drama, and has revealed that he initially felt “sympathy” for the News at Ten host when he was “outed in the newspapers” before realising it was “a whole different ballgame”. 

The upcoming two-part series, Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards, explores how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television.

In September 2024, Huw was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence for accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven.

What has Martin Clunes said about the scandal? 

Reflecting on when Huw was first named as the BBC presenter at the centre of the scandal, Martin, 64, told the Press Association: “It was weird at the time because they wouldn’t name him, so lots of BBC presenters kept saying it wasn’t them, and it caught fire, and then it was a surprise when Huw Edwards was named.

“I remember we were doing the read through for Out There at the London Welsh Club just as this story was breaking, and there was a photo portrait of Huw Edwards in the entrance, which a few of us commented on,” said Martin. 

© ©5 Broadcasting Limited / ©Won

He continued: “You felt sympathy for him at first, because it just seemed like a person in the public eye was being outed in the newspapers, and I can say from personal experience that newspapers only want to be nasty about people in the public eye.

“But then they found messages on his telephone, and that was a whole different ball game.”

What is Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards about? 

The series, directed by BAFTA and Emmy-winning director Michael Samuels, delves into the downfall of Huw Edwards, who was one of the BBC’s highest-paid newsreaders and led the coverage of major royal and political stories, including the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022. 

© Matt Towers / 5 Broadcasting Limited / Paramount / Wonderhood Studios

In July 2023, a report by The Sun alleged that a “top BBC star” had paid a teenager for sexual pictures. His wife, Vicky Flind, later named him as the presenter involved in the scandal and he was charged in June 2024 following a Met Police investigation. 

The following month, Huw pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children and admitted to having 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven of the most serious type.

© BBC News & Current Affairs via G

The upcoming “unflinching” drama builds on extensive factual research, including first hand interviews and co-operation from those at the centre of the scandal and exclusive access to The Sun newspaper’s investigation into Edwards.

The series paints a “complex, emotional and nuanced portrait, revealing how the grooming of a vulnerable 17-year old over many months led to Edwards’ downfall, disgrace and the end of his life in the public eye”. 

Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards will air Tuesday March 24 at 9pm on 5.