Martin Clunes to play Huw Edwards in new drama
Martin Clunes will play disgraced broadcaster Huw Ewards in Channel 5's Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards.
Martin Clunes will play Huw Edwards in a new drama series.
The Doc Martin star will appear as the disgraced newsreader - who received a six-month sentenced suspended for two years and was placed on the sex offenders register for seven years in September 2024 after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children - in Channel 5 series Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards.
Channel 5 said the two-part series will depict “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”.
The show is based on interviews with "key individuals" involved in Huw's story, but not the 64-year-old broadcaster himself.
Ben Frow, Channel 5’s chief content officer, said: “This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status.
“By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines.”
David Abraham, the founder and group chief executive of Wonderhood Studios, who are producing the show, aded: “Drama is a medium with the power to uncover profound psychological truths, and we are incredibly grateful to our brave contributors in trusting us with their story.”
Edwards was charged with having a total of 41 photographs on a WhatsApp chat, six category A images - the most serious classification of indecent pictures - 12 category B pictures and 19 category C.
The offences were alleged to have taken place between 2020 and 2022 but are separate from other claims that were widely publicised and investigated in 2023.
A police spokesperson said: "These allegations did not form part of the matter which was considered by police in July 2023. They were investigated separately as a standalone case."
After the charges were confirmed, it was reported Edwards had split from wife Vicky Flind - with whom he has five children - and has moved out of their family home.
Edwards joined the BBC as a trainee in 1984 and fronted the Six O'Clock News from 1994 to 2003 before becoming the main presenter of BBC One's flagship Ten O'Clock News.
The veteran broadcaster famously broke the news to the nation after Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022 and also led coverage of both her funeral and that of Prince Philip, as well as being lead presenter for King Charles' coronation.
The term 'making indecent images' can include opening, accessing, downloading and storing content, or receiving an image via social media, even if unsolicited or part of a group.
