Channel 5 has commissioned a two-part factual drama about disgraced former BBC presenter Huw Edwards, with Martin Clunes set to play Edwards in a project currently titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. The network said the drama, developed over the past year, will trace how Edwards’ public standing unraveled as allegations surfaced about his private conduct, ending with his disappearance from public life.
The broadcaster describes the series as an account of “how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed” by a powerful television figure and says the story will chart a “double life” that spirals into criminal exposure. Channel 5 says the production drew on extensive reporting and first-hand interviews with people connected to the case, including access to material tied to the tabloid investigation that first brought the allegations into the open.
Edwards’ legal troubles became public after claims in 2023 that a leading BBC presenter paid a teenager for explicit images; his wife later identified him publicly. In 2024, Edwards pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and received a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years, according to court reporting. He had been among the BBC’s best-known anchors, joining the corporation in 1984, taking the Ten O’Clock News chair in 2003, and fronting major national broadcasts, including the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022.
Channel 5 chief content officer Ben Frow called the case “an important and shocking story” about a person in a trusted position who betrayed that status, and said the drama will focus on the “human cost” behind the headlines. Wonderhood Studios founder David Abraham, whose company is making its first scripted drama with the project, said drama can surface psychological truths and credited contributors who agreed to participate.
The series is written by Mark Burt and directed by Michael Samuels, with Krempelwood listed as a financing partner. No broadcast date has been announced. A TV commentator cited by the Guardian noted that Channel 5 has built an audience by programming controversy, a reputation that will follow this commission as it moves toward air.
