The seismic scandal involving former Huw Edwards — one of U.K. TV’s highest profile figures and a BBC news anchor who in 2024 pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children and was placed on the U.K.’s sex offender register — is being turned into a TV drama.
“Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards” (working title) has been ordered by 5, the U.K. network owned by Paramount and will be produced by Wonderhood Studios.
A year in the making, the two-part factual drama is set to examine how a “vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television,” according to the producers, with Martin Clunes (“Doc Martin,” “Out There”) portraying Edwards. The series will explore 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.”
It was in July 2023 when Edward’s secrets started to unravel rapidly after a national newspaper reported that “a top BBC star” had paid a “teenager for sexual pictures.” As it transpired, that star was Edwards — one of the best known faces on U.K. TV and the man who made the historic declaration that Queen Elizabeth II had died. Online, he was he was soliciting explicit sexual photos from young men, and struck up a friendship with a man who sent him messages containing child abuse imagery. Following a police investigation, he pled guilty to making indecent images of children at Westminster Magistrates Court.
“Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards” builds on factual research over the past 12 months, including first hand interviews and co-operation from those at the heart of the scandal and exclusive access to The Sun newspaper’s award-winning investigation into Edwards.
“This is an important and shocking story – of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status,” said Ben Frow, chief content officer at 5. “By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines. As a close collaboration between 5’s factual and scripted teams this is a first for the channel.”
Added David Abraham, founder and group CEO, at Wonderhood Studios: “This project marks Wonderhood’s first step into drama and builds on our record in producing premium documentaries about challenging subjects that matter.”
“Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards” is a Wonderhood Studios production commissioned by Guy Davies (consultant editor for commissioning, 5) and Paul Testar (commissioning editor, scripted, 5) and co-produced with programme financiers Krempelwood. The series is directed by BAFTA and EMMY winning Michael Samuels (“The Windermere Children,” “Any Human Heart”) and written by Mark Burt (“The Trial”). The producer is Angie Daniell (“A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story,” “Vigil”), the casting director is Jenny Duffy, the factual producer is Louise Kentleton and director of production is Lianne Hickey. The executive producers are BAFTA-winner Samantha Anstiss and Tom Garton.