The young man at the centre of the Huw Edwards scandal has spoken publicly for the first time, claiming the former BBC presenter took advantage of him. Now aged 21, he was a teenager when Edwards first asked for explicit photos and messages. He told the Mirror: 'I want to tell the truth about what happened… I’ve stayed silent for so long to protect Huw, but I feel sick at what has happened.'
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he felt Edwards, 62, 'groomed' him. The scandal erupted last summer when it emerged his mother and stepfather claimed Edwards paid £35,000 for 'sordid' pictures. Edwards was initially unnamed but his identity was revealed by his wife, and he was hospitalised for mental health concerns. The man defended Edwards at the time but later felt like a victim, especially after police informed him of charges against Edwards over indecent images of children.
He described his troubled state when he first contacted Edwards. After falling out with his parents, he was sleeping on friends' sofas and spent nights at a homeless shelter. He began messaging famous people for help and contacted Edwards after seeing him on TV in a Cardiff burger bar. Edwards was the only one to reply, depositing £500 into his PayPal account for hotel costs. The man said: 'Although it was a friendship at the beginning, it did change. He would say things like, “Are you going to do something for me then?” I needed help, so I did. I feel like he sort of fed on my vulnerability.'
The man admitted sending X-rated messages and videos, feeling manipulated due to Edwards' power as a BBC presenter. Edwards sent up to £35,000 over two years, with one payment accompanied by the message 'Be Loyal.' The man said: 'In my head I wasn’t selling pictures… it was for the longer game, it was sexual, but it was never asked for directly. I think he was very clever in the way he went around it.'
The arrangement was exposed when his mother found messages on his phone. Edwards pestered him to meet, but the man refused many times. The one time they arranged to meet at Cardiff train station, his mother intervened, messaging Edwards pretending to be her son. His stepfather filmed Edwards at the station. His mother complained to the BBC, which did not act, then went to the Sun newspaper. The man initially defended Edwards but now regrets that instinct.
Edwards was suspended by the BBC and later charged. The man said he believed he would not hear from Edwards again, but the scandal has deeply affected him.
