According to a statement issued on behalf of Huw Edwards by his wife Vicky Flind, the BBC newsreader has been named as the individual who allegedly paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures. Edwards, 61, is one of the BBC’s most well-known newsreaders and currently receives a salary of just over £430,000. The claims were reportedly brought to the attention of the BBC on 19 May.
The Sun newspaper initially reported that a “household name” had been accused of providing a young person with a substantial sum of money. Edwards allegedly requested the explicit images from the individual when they were 17 years old in 2020. Furthermore, it was claimed that during a video call, Edwards stripped down to his underwear while interacting with the now 20-year-old individual.
The young person’s mother expressed shock upon seeing a screenshot allegedly showing Edwards leaning forward in anticipation of the explicit performance. Dissatisfied with the lack of action taken by the BBC a month after making their complaint, the family approached The Sun with their story.
The BBC has suspended Huw Edwards and has emphasized its commitment to taking any allegations seriously, stating that it has robust internal processes in place to address such claims proactively. An investigation into the matter will be conducted.
Vicky Flind’s statement on behalf of her husband in full (PA news agency):
“In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family.
“I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.
“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.
“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.
“To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.
“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected.
“I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
