Disgraced BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has issued a strong statement following the Channel 5 TV drama about his axe from the broadcaster. He was among the BBC's most highly-paid newsreaders, recognised for fronting the BBC's News At Ten for decades, before admitting guilt to making indecent images of children in July 2024. He received a six-month suspended prison sentence.

Edwards was the focus of a recent Channel 5 drama concerning his downfall, featuring Doc Martin actor Martin Clunes.

He said in a statement: "Much has been written and reported in the past week following Channel 5's one-sided account. Other opportunities will arise later this year for me to state my case, and to challenge the misleading or fabricated claims made in recent coverage. A number of serious questions still remain to be answered, and not just by me. It will now take some time for me to produce my own account, and until then I do not intend to comment any further."

It comes after he previously hit out at the TV drama, saying the production company behind the 5 drama, Wonderhood Studios, neglected to verify the "truth" of the narratives depicted in the series, concerning allegations made by The Sun in July 2023 which claimed that a "top BBC star" paid a teenager more than £35,000 for sexual pictures. Edwards went on to express "deep regret and remorse" for his crimes, acknowledging that his conduct was "reckless, shameful, and damaging".

Channel 5 quickly hit back with a response, stating: "Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards is based on extensive interviews with the victim, his family, the journalists who revealed his story, text exchanges between the victim and Edwards, and court reporting.

"It has been produced in accordance with Ofcom's Broadcasting Code. All allegations made in the film were put to Huw Edwards via his solicitors six weeks before transmission."

Edwards was initially arrested in September 2023, before he was suspended by the BBC in April 2024. He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, and was sentenced in September that year.

He also spotted liking a LinkedIn post regarding BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills' axe after a complaint about a police investigation into "serious sexual offences against a boy under 16".