The mother of the teenager groomed by Huw Edwards has condemned Channel 4 following reports that the disgraced former BBC newsreader will 'state his case' in a tell-all interview with the broadcaster. Edwards is in talks with Channel 4 to tell his side of the story after he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children, it has been reported. He is understood to want to 'state his case' in an interview with the broadcaster.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 did not respond when approached by The Mail on Sunday for comment. Edwards has been keen for several weeks to explain the 'truth' to viewers following the revelations that he had groomed a young man on social media and paid him thousands of pounds for explicit images.
Channel 4 staff were said to be 'appalled' at the prospect of their employer allowing the broadcaster to provide a platform to Edwards. It comes in the same week that contestants from Married At First Sight, a Channel 4 programme, claimed they were raped while taking part in the reality show. The scandal was exposed by the BBC One show Panorama earlier this week.
The mother of the teenager groomed by Edwards has lashed out at Channel 4 over its plans to 'platform' the 'convicted paedophile'. She told The Sun: 'It's absolutely disgusting Channel 4 has given a convicted paedophile a platform. I don't understand what he has to say - or what his side of the story really is. Who wants to hear that? And why would they agree to it? Whatever he says there's no excuse for how he behaved. Haven't we been through enough?'
One employee said: 'It's disgraceful. It's like Channel 4 wants to be known for its shock television. Channel 4 would never recover from allowing Huw Edwards to have a platform on their screens.'
Edwards was the subject of a Channel 5 drama starring Martin Clunes as the disgraced former presenter, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, which aired in March. It is thought to have prompted Edwards to seek a manager, Barry Tomes, to rebuild his career. At the time, the 64-year-old complained that the show's production company Wonderhood made 'no attempt to check the truth of their narrative' with him. Edwards added: 'They belatedly asked for a response after the drama had been made, while reserving the right to edit any such response. They also refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations had been paid for their contributions.'
Edwards was handed a six-month suspended sentence in 2024 for possessing 41 images of children including some aged between seven and nine. Two years earlier, in 2022, he had announced Queen Elizabeth's death on the BBC.
