POWER- DOWNFALL OF HUW EDWARDS - tue 9pm ch5

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Martin Clunes as Huw Edwards in its highly anticipated new drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards.

a feature length factual drama

The Doc Martin and Manhunt star plays the former BBC News presenter in the feature-length factual drama, which premieres on Tuesday 24 March at 9pm on Channel 5

The series explores "the story of how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television", according to the synopsis, which continues: "The series explores the newsreader’s double life as it spirals out of control, leading him to make the greatest announcement of his career – his total exit from public life following his conviction for serious child sexual offences."

In September 2022, Edwards was one of Britain's most trusted newsreaders, chosen to deliver the historic announcement that Queen Elizabeth II had died.

A year later, his online activity was exposed.

Below are the facts - mainly public known but if don’t want to know till watch the programme then stop reading

In 2023, The Sun published allegations that a BBC presenter had paid a young person (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a44480790/bbc-responds-presenter-accused-paying-teenager-explicit-photos/) for sexually explicit photos, with the BBC suspending this male presenter in response (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a44484380/bbc-presenter-suspended-explicit-photos-teenager/). The presenter was then confirmed to be Edwards by his wife Vicky Flind (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a44520185/huw-edwards-named-bbc-suspended-presenter/), which prompted a police investigation.

Edwards received three charges of making indecent images of children (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a61727897/bbc-huw-edwards-charged-indecent-images/) between December 2020 and April 2022.

He pleaded guilty (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a61748562/huw-edwards-pleads-guilty-indecent-child-images/) at Westminster Magistrates Court, and was given a suspended sentence (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a62221949/huw-edwards-sentence-indecent-child-images/).

The programme also documents how Edwards struck up a separate online friendship with a man called Alex Williams, who between 2020 and 2021 sent him messages containing child abuse imagery that he accessed.

It led to Edwards’s conviction in 2024 for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven, for which he was given a six-month suspended prison sentence.

The court heard that Edwards had been involved in online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021, who sent him 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children. The bulk of these, 36, were sent during a two-month period.

The man told Edwards that the boy was quite young-looking and that he had more images which were illegal. Mr Edwards told him not to send any illegal images, the court was told. No more were sent, and the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

"It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat. Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else."

Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards (https://www.theguardian.com/media/huw-edwards)includes an onscreen message from the alleged victim at the end of the programme in which says he hopes his story will help others who feel powerless.

Given the name “Ryan Davies” to protect his identity, he worked with producers on the scripts and says in his message: “I chose to tell my story now for the first time so that no one who has been silenced feels they are alone.

Your truth matters and it deserves to be heard.”
Now aged 23, Ryan adds: “After years of struggle, I have finally overcome my battle with drugs.

I refuse to let Huw Edwards or what he did define who I am or the life I will yet lead.”

Ryan is played by Osian Morgan , most recently seen in under salt marsh as Alfie

Many senior people at the BBC knew or at least we're aware of what he was up to but chose to do nothing.

There had been several complaints over several years. He was even showing boys around his place of work.

The whole institution is disgusting.

I think it is, yes, but it does get slow at times as it's on for nearly two hours .

Same, just awful and not just the obviously disturbing content.

Was there any need to try so very hard with the impersonation? We know who it is about the attention to detail even his seating position when presenting the news just seemed ott and silly.

Had to switch off, how he went undetected for so long is weird and shocking.

Warren from This Life has aged a bit..(we all have, and I watched ep1 of This Life on Monday..)

The stepdad was awful, I’d say he was a contributing factor of why the boy was made to feel special by Huw as he treated him like absolute shit. How can a mother allow him to talk to her son like that? He was also clearly just after the money by wanting to report it to the Sun, he couldn’t give two shits about his stepson.

I watched and thought what a despicable individual Edward’s is. Cannot believe that the judge thought a suspended sentence was sufficient.

It was obvious that Edwards hadn't suddenly found new territory , it must've been going on for years with other poor boys .

So I wasn't surprised when the journalists at the Sun were saying in their offices that he'd got away with it for years . Why hadn't they published it, who blocked them ? BBC ?

Thanks

i may try it tonight

I did wonder at this as he was perving at pics of kids

from what I gather he said don’t send me any more but …….

Seems a few watched

I watched it all. It was a hard watch but pretty well done I thought. I just wanted to wrap that boy up in my arms and protect him.

I watched it all, I'm surprised so many people didn't, or turned the programme off early....and that there isn't very much debate about the programme today.

Yes, it's a horrific subject but those of us who only have mainstream news never got the proper story (yes, I realise Channel 5 will be presenting their slant but they have at least tried), and I never understood before why there was reporting about a groomed boy, then it was pulled, then it was child images instead etc.

If the programme is to be believed, I do agree with pp who think the boy's father's behaviour towards the lad was a contributing factor for him to be vulnerable to someone like Huw Edwards.

I also feel for the family, that they didn't feel they had justice for their boy, one hopes that collaborating in making such a programme helps with that. There was clearly evidence that Huw had been grooming other boys, that past allegations had been made but never taken up and so on. Yet another case of a man who gains public power and no-one believes they're capable of such deeds, and then they're protected once stories start circulating.

Personally I think this programme needs to be watched, and that there should be much more debate about it. It isn't just this specific case, it's for all those who have been groomed in whatever circumstances, who also don't get the justice they deserve. If we don't engage in the debate because it feels too "grubby" what hope is there? It just gets brushed under the carpet yet again. Well done Channel 5 for tackling this.

The stepfather seemed to really come through for Ryan when everything came out.

Quite well made for channel 5 but as said loads of ad breaks, but that's channel 5 for you.

Edwards life.must be pretty shit now, so that's one good thing and this will help make it worse, I wonder how he lives now?

Edwards must be living a comfy life. He has a London house worth £4m

i am sure he will be ok

As someone else remarked up thread …
Dreary & too slow.

A fascinating watch which filled in some of the news gaps but I struggled to stay awake.

I thought Martin Clunes played it well. Poor chap had to have his ears pinned back for the part.

I agree with @Allisgoodtoday I think it is worth a watch, and am baffled by the posters saying 'meh it was drab/crap and I switched off after 15 minutes.' They didn't give it much time!'

It is worth a watch, as it illustrates what a vile predator Huw Edwards really is, and how easy it is for vulnerable young people to get roped in and groomed by pervy (often middle aged and older) men ... Like a few others on here I am gobsmacked that there were concerns about Huw's behaviour some years before, and nothing was done about it. What am I talking about, it's the BBC, of COURSE nothing was done about it!!! 🙄

I assume this is how he actually behaved because the show was put together with accounts from the victims. (Well, they contributed.) If it is an accurate summary which I think it must be, Huw was horrible to those boys. He critisized them, and talked down to them, but also called them 'baby.' It was chilling, and sickening. 😖

I do recommend watching it, but it does have a LOT of ad breaks. I recorded it (Freesat) and started watching it half an hour in, so I was able to watch it ad free IYSWIM. I couldn't have watched it with all the breaks in. It sounds mad, but a 5-6 minute ad break every 10-12 minutes really stresses me out because I find it so infuriating! I think there was about 7 or 8 ad breaks. 😬

I am also gobsmacked that Huw Edwards didn't receive a prison sentence, and agree with the posters saying the boy's horrible stepdad probably contributed to the boy (Ryan) seeking affection and attention elsewhere. Shame on his mother for allowing his stepdad to speak to him like he did. I think the way she let him speak to her son was despicable. And I agree that when the stepdad found out about what had happened, he was after compensation.

Also though, I wonder why there was no evidence of Huw talking to Ryan? (When the authorities investigated him.) Surely there must have been a few videos or texts?

Oh, and yes, Martin Clunes was uncannily like Huw. It was very well done, and very clever how he emulated him so well. I forgot it was Martin Clunes, and believed it was Huw Edwards after the first few minutes!

Overall, definitely worth a watch!

Bet he hasn't paid the money back to the BBC yet?

@Netcurtainnelly I don't think he has actually. ^

He is so arrogant. Remember when the paps were buzzing around him, and he was acting like he was the boss of a crime gang. Dickhead!

Yes I agree with everything you’ve written here.

It was much worse than I thought previously. Eg. He watched video of an 8yr old child being raped. And more.

I felt physically sick at times, but every person who watches it and understands more of horrific HE is, the better. I don’t understand why he’s not in prison.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/20/power-the-downfall-of-huw-edwards-martin-clunes-interview-drama-channel-5

I only heard about the video of the 8 year old in a recent interview with MC to promote the series.

I quite agree! I don’t understand those who are saying it was too dark or too slow. The whole point of it wasn’t “entertainment”.

I appreciated them depicting the full rolling out of events in a realistic manner, as as like you Allisgoodtoday, and others; I didn’t initially understand the two different strands of the story. And I agree it’s good to be aware of how these despicable things happen.

If you were watching it as “entertainment” then of course you are going to be disappointed.

The police response was very disappointing although the stepfather’s behaviour didn’t help.

I thought Martin Clunes and the actor who played the lead young man and his mother, all did a superb job. You really came to understand the young lad’s despair and vulnerability and how HE took advantage of him so mercilessly.

What I still don’t understand is how HE got away with a suspended sentence after being charged with looking at Cat A pornography?

I also think this programme exposes a grey area of law where a seventeen year old at one and the same time is legally able to have consensual sexual relations with another adult but can also be groomed and coerced.

And again, as others have said, if HE’s behaviour was so well known at the BBC and by the media, just like in Philip Schofield’s case, why do these organisations still lean towards protecting their “talent” rather than the victims?

It’s interesting too that both PS and HE are even now still reaching for the “mental illness” defence. Most of us who have lived in the world a bit understand that men derive relief from stress when having sex but to somehow try and extrapolate that in to “depression and stress made me look at Cat A pornography and groom vulnerable young men” is completely ludicrous and cowardly imho.

I'm going to watch later. Is it ok to watch with a 14 year old?

I would like my 14 year old son to watch it but it is quite long and his attention span isn't great.

I don’t understand those who are saying it was too dark or too slow. The whole point of it wasn’t “entertainment”.

But nor was it a factual documentary, so I do think it was intended as a kind of entertainment.

The disclaimer at the beginning read...

“This drama is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family and the journalists who revealed his story. Some scenes, characters and text messages have been dramatized.”

I agree with PP's who say it was quite slow at points.