Channel 5 has defended its controversial drama about the downfall of Huw Edwards, saying it raises the “urgent” issue of grooming and online safety and gives voice to his alleged victim. The programme, titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, stars Martin Clunes as the disgraced former BBC newsreader and charts the claim of a relationship and texts between Edwards and a vulnerable young man.
The alleged victim, given the name “Ryan Davies” to protect his identity, worked with producers on the scripts and appears in an onscreen message at the end of the programme. Now aged 23, he says: “I chose to tell my story now for the first time so that no one who has been silenced feels they are alone. Your truth matters and it deserves to be heard.” He adds that he has overcome his battle with drugs and refuses to let Edwards define his life.
The drama also documents Edwards’s separate online friendship with a man called Alex Williams, which led to Edwards’s conviction in 2024 for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven. He received a six-month suspended prison sentence. Executive producer Sam Anstiss said reading the texts was like “going into the heart of darkness” of a “disturbing” and “very imbalanced relationship”.
Speaking at a screening in London, Anstiss defended the timing of the drama, stating: “Foremost because the victim says it’s right, he’s ready to tell his story, and there are really urgent themes around online safety, child pornography and the leniency of the sentencing.” Channel 5 chief content officer Ben Frow acknowledged criticism but argued that drama is the most powerful way to highlight how grooming works.
The programme also covers how Ryan’s family tried to complain to the BBC but faced procedural issues, for which the BBC apologised in 2024. The corporation has been made aware that it features in the programme. Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards airs at 9pm on 24 March on Channel 5.
