There are scandals that dominate headlines for weeks, and then there are those that permanently alter how institutions are viewed. The downfall of Huw Edwards belongs firmly in the latter category, and it is now set to be examined in dramatic form, with Martin Clunes taking on the role.
The Doc Martin star has been cast as Edwards in a new two-part factual drama currently titled Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. The series marks the first collaboration between Channel 5’s factual and scripted commissioning teams, a structural decision that signals just how seriously the BBC is approaching the material.
Once one of the most recognisable figures in British television, Edwards spent decades as the face of BBC News at Ten, delivering moments of national significance. He was also among the BBC’s highest-paid presenters. That public trust collapsed in July 2024 when Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.
Clunes will portray Edwards in a series that aims to chart the presenter’s “double life” and the slow, devastating unravelling of his career. According to Channel 5, the drama will also feature interviews with journalists and individuals who first reported and investigated the story, grounding the reconstruction in documented events rather than speculation.
Ben Frow, Channel 5’s chief content officer, described the project in stark terms. “This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status,” he said. “By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines.” He added: “As a close collaboration between 5’s factual and scripted teams, this is a first for the channel.”
The scandal began to surface publicly in July 2023, when The Sun reported allegations that a “top BBC star” had paid a teenager for sexual images. Days later, Edwards’ wife publicly identified him as the presenter at the centre of the claims. Edwards resigned from the BBC in April 2024, following months of mounting scrutiny.
In June 2024, after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Edwards was formally charged. A month later, he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, admitting to possessing 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven categorised as the most serious type.
The new series will be directed by Michael Samuels, whose previous work includes The Windermere Children and Any Human Heart. His involvement suggests a restrained, character-driven approach rather than sensationalism, an important distinction given the subject matter.
Clunes’ casting is likely to draw particular attention. Known primarily for warm, authoritative roles, his involvement adds a layer of discomfort that feels intentional. This is not a story about a fringe figure or a sudden fall from obscurity. It is about how power, familiarity, and institutional prestige can obscure behaviour, and how devastating the consequences are when that illusion breaks.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards is positioned not as a simple retelling of events, but as an examination of trust abused and the damage left behind. In doing so, it asks a difficult but necessary question: how someone so visible, so embedded in national life, was able to hide in plain sight for so long.
