UK

Huw Edwards resigns from BBC on ‘medical advice’ following explicit photo allegations

Long-time newsreader has been off air since last July and has not received a pay-off, broadcaster says

Newsreader Huw Edwards, who has resigned from the BBC after allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photographs. Photograph: Chris Jackson/PA Wire
Newsreader Huw Edwards, who has resigned from the BBC after allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photographs. Photograph: Chris Jackson/PA Wire
Mon Apr 22 2024 - 15:35

Newsreader Huw Edwards has resigned and left the BBC “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors”, the broadcaster has said.

His resignation follows allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photographs.

A statement from the BBC said: “Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC. After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors.

“The BBC has accepted his resignation, which it believes will allow all parties to move forward. We don’t believe it appropriate to comment further.”

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Edwards, a married father of five, has been absent from screens since the story emerged last July and his wife said at the time he was receiving in-patient hospital care and suffering “serious mental health issues”.

[ Who is Huw Edwards? The broadcaster with the strong Welsh accent who became one of UK’s most familiar faces ]

He was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000-£439,999 in the year 2022/2023, according to the corporation’s most recent annual report.

This was up from £410,000-£414,000 the year before, and made him the fourth highest paid employee on the overall list.

The BBC said Edwards has not received a pay off.

Edwards had long been a fixture in the corporation’s coverage of major political and royal events.

He announced Queen Elizabeth II’s death on the BBC and presented coverage of her funeral. He also anchored the BBC’s broadcast of King Charles’s coronation last year.

Questions will now arise about who will take his place to anchor the coverage of the forthcoming UK general election.

The family of an unnamed young person originally complained to the BBC about Edwards in May 2023, and Edwards was publicly named by his wife as the BBC presenter at the centre of the allegations in July.

Edwards was suspended by the corporation but the Metropolitan Police said in July that no criminal offence had taken place.

Edwards was a Westminster correspondent for 13 years, and has played a key role in the BBC’s political reporting, taking over election coverage from the long-serving David Dimbleby in 2019.

He revealed in a documentary in 2021 that he had bouts of depression which had left him “bedridden” since 2002.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by Jane Garvey and Fi Glover, Fortunately… With Fi And Jane, he said he decided to share publicly that he had depression as he felt it was “complete hypocrisy” to support organisations such as the Shawmind Foundation or Mind without explaining why.

“I also felt that it might be someway helpful to people if I opened up about it and say, ‘You can do a job and you can be successful’, whether it’s just reading a bit of autocue or doing whatever it is… while also dealing with issues like that,” he told the podcast. – PA