Martin Clunes, best known for his role in Doc Martin, stars as disgraced former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards in the new Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. The programme, airing on 24 March, depicts Edwards’s fall from grace following his conviction for making indecent images of children. Clunes, 63, said he did not hesitate to take on the role, despite the controversial nature of the subject matter.
The drama recreates Edwards’s BBC news desk in a London canalside studio, where Clunes delivers the news in the late-night slot Edwards occupied for decades. Clunes joked that he wondered if he would be criticised for being a straight man playing a gay man, but the production is careful to distinguish between Edwards’s homosexuality and his criminal sexual interest in children. The drama explores both aspects of Edwards’s life, including his online pursuit of a teenage boy, which was not illegal but constituted an abuse of his public profile.
Clunes underwent minimal prosthetics for the role, with his ears flattened using putty and his lips thinned cosmetically. He lost some weight to match Edwards’s chiselled appearance during the period depicted. The actor, who has taken on dramatic roles in ITV’s Manhunt and Out There, as well as an upcoming Wuthering Heights film, said his range has benefited from 18 years of playing the eccentric GP in Doc Martin.
Edwards was sentenced for making indecent images of children, including seven category A images, the most serious level of depicted abuse. He has not presented the news since July 2023, when he was suspended following reports that he paid a teenager £35,000 for intimate images. The drama’s title, Power, reflects the central theme of Edwards’s misuse of his position.
