Huw Edwards

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Huw Edwards
Huw Edwards
Edwards in 2021
Born (1961-08-18) 18 August 1961 (age 62)
Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales
EducationCardiff University (BA)
University of Wales Trinity Saint David (PhD)
Occupation(s)Journalist, newsreader, television presenter
Years active1984–present
EmployerBBC
SpouseVicky Flind
Children5
Parent

Huw Edwards (/hiːʊ, hjuː/ hee-uu, hew, Welsh pronunciation: [hɨu]; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader. Until his suspension in July 2023, he was the lead presenter of BBC News at Ten, the evening news programme of the BBC.

Edwards has anchored BBC coverage of state and international events, and was occasionally seen as relief or as chief presenter on

funeral of Prince Philip, the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II and the coronation of Charles III and Camilla. He also presented BBC News at Five, which was broadcast on the BBC News channel from 2006 until 2020. He was the lead presenter for the general election
coverage in December 2019.

In July 2023, Edwards was suspended by the BBC following allegations of sexual misconduct made in The Sun. The South Wales Police and the Metropolitan Police found no evidence of criminal conduct. Edwards was reported to be in hospital, suffering from depression. In January 2024 he was reported to be still too unwell to discuss future options for his employment with the BBC.

Early life and education

Huw Edwards was born on 18 August 1961 in

University College, Swansea.[4] Edwards's mother, Aerona Protheroe, taught at Llanelli's Ysgol Gyfun y Strade
for 30 years. He has one sister, Meinir.

He was educated at

Swansea Sound and then joining the BBC.[8]

In 2018, Edwards was awarded a

doctoral thesis was titled O Dinopolis i Fetropolis: arolwg o lanw a thrai achosion Ymneilltuol Cymraeg yn Llanelli a Llundain, 1714–2014 ("From Tinopolis to Metropolis: A Survey of the Ebb and Flow of Welsh Dissenting Causes in Llanelli and London, 1714–2014").[10] He said, "It's 12 years since I was here to receive an honorary fellowship which was a great day but today is an even bigger day because I am receiving my PhD after 7 agonising years of hard work on the history of the Welsh chapels in the 18th century."[11]

Career

BBC News

Edwards spent a short time on

BBC Wales.[14]

Between 1994 and January 2003, Edwards presented the BBC Six O'Clock News.[15] During this period, this was the most watched news programme in Britain.[16]

In January 2003, Edwards became the main presenter of the Ten O'Clock News on

Festival of Remembrance.[17] He led the BBC commentary team at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games. He has presented several election specials, including coverage of the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election for BBC Wales and also the BBC coverage of the results of the 2008 United States elections and the inauguration of Barack Obama. He was formerly chief political correspondent for BBC News, and spent more than 14 years reporting politics from Westminster across a range of BBC programmes.[17]

Edwards in 2006

Edwards has also presented or contributed to a range of other BBC News programmes, including Breakfast News, One O'Clock News, Newsnight and Panorama. Since April 2006, Edwards has presented the newly established BBC News at Five on the 24-hour BBC News channel. On 29 April 2011 he presented the BBC coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The coverage was watched by 20 million viewers at peak in the United Kingdom[18] and the team won a BAFTA Award for Best Coverage of a Live Event.[19][17] In June 2012 he presented the BBC coverage of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[20] In May 2013 Edwards took over BBC coverage of local elections from David Dimbleby.[21] He presented a special news report for the BBC following the death of Nelson Mandela in December 2013.[22]

Edwards shared the BBC's

2019 UK general election coverage on 12 and 13 December 2019.[26] In April 2021, he presented the rolling coverage across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC News Channel and BBC World News following the death of Prince Philip, as well as funeral coverage on 17 April.[27]

External videos
video icon Announcement of the death of the Queen on the BBC's television channels read by Edwards.

In August 2021, Edwards said that he was contemplating his future, stating: "Now that a big milestone is here, which is 60-years-old, it's natural for a man to think 'Am I going to continue in this job for another five years, or do I want to do something different?'", he told BBC Radio Cymru. "The nightly news business, after 20 years, that can be taxing, even though I still enjoy the job. But I don't think I'll be doing that for long. Because I believe that, in the first place, I think it's fair for the viewers to get a change."[28]

On 8 September 2022, Edwards announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II,[29] presenting rolling news coverage from around 14:00 BST following an announcement from Buckingham Palace earlier in the day.[30] He later presented the BBC's coverage of her state funeral on 19 September.[31]

Other BBC programming and appearances

Although predominantly a news journalist, Edwards has presented a wide range of programming on television and radio, including documentaries on classical music, religion and the Welsh language (of which he is a native speaker), and hosted various events such as the BAFTA Cymru award ceremonies.[32] He has a particular interest in history and has presented documentaries on many historical subjects, including Owain Glyndŵr, the South Wales Valleys, Gladstone and Disraeli and a series following the work of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

He presented Bread of Heaven with Huw Edwards, a documentary about the impact of religion in Wales which won the 2005 BAFTA Cymru for best documentary and nominations in four other categories.[33]

In September 2008, the BBC Trust ruled that a documentary presented by Edwards on the subject of Welsh politics had broken the organisation's editorial guidelines. The programme, entitled Wales: Power and the People – Back to the Future, addressed the topic of the Welsh Assembly, with Edwards stating, "to achieve its full potential it needs even greater support for the people of Wales than it's received so far ... the more people that take part, the stronger and healthier our democracy in Wales will be." Following a complaint, the governing body concluded that Edwards's words were not objective and even-handed on the subject, saying, "It is not the role of BBC presenters to encourage audiences to exercise their right to vote on particular occasions." It was also found that the documentary as a whole was biased against the Conservative Party.[34][35]

In 2010, Edwards presented a programme titled The Prince and the Plotter about the

BAFTA Cymru Awards for his work.[36]

In February 2012, he launched a historical documentary series made by

James Bond film Skyfall, presenting a BBC News report on a fictionalised attack on the British intelligence service MI6.[38]

In 2015, he presented a history of the Welsh colony in Patagonia—in English and Welsh versions—to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the colony's establishment.[39]

In December 2018, Edwards was a guest of Mary Berry in BBC One's Mary Berry's Christmas Party.[40]

In December 2022, Edwards was the narrator for the BBC Four programme Organ Stops: Saving the King of Instruments.[41]

BBC salary

Edwards earned £550,000–£599,999 as a BBC presenter for several years. His salary was reduced voluntarily in the light of gender pay differences found within the BBC.[42] Press Gazette announced his new salary to be £520,000–£529,999 as of July 2018.[1] His salary was further reduced in 2019, with his salary in May 2021 reported to be £465,000,[43] and reduced further to £435,000–£439,999 in July 2023.[44]

2023 suspension

On 7 July 2023, The Sun reported that a well-known BBC presenter had paid a teenager more than £35,000 since they were 17 in return for images, based on allegations by their mother and stepfather. A lawyer representing the young person said nothing inappropriate or illegal had taken place, and that their client was estranged from their mother.[45][46][47] On 12 July, Edwards's wife, Vicky Flind, named him as the subject and said that he was receiving hospital treatment for depression.[48][49] In January 2024 Edwards was reported to be too unwell to discuss future options for his employment with the BBC.[50]

Shortly before Edwards was named, the Metropolitan Police reported that it had found no evidence of crime and would not investigate further.[51] The Sun stated that it had never alleged criminality on the part of Edwards, which The Guardian described as backtracking from its initial claims.[52] The Sun also said it would cooperate with the BBC's internal investigation and not publish further allegations.[51] The Sun's subsequent reporting said the contact began when the teenager was 17, without specifying when explicit photos were first exchanged.[53] Edwards was provided the results of the BBC's inquiry in or before November 2023 and was not reinstated.[54]

The BBC's interim chair, Dame Elan Closs Stephens, subsequently told a parliamentary committee that the individual alleged to have received the money from Edwards was a "young man". In response, the editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, said: "At no point have we identified the gender of the young person, which the BBC has done on more than one occasion."[55]

Other activities

Edwards is a vice president of the National Churches Trust.

In March 2011, Edwards opened Swansea University's "Hoffi Coffi" cafe in the library, created to support the aims of Academi Hywel Teifi, named after his father who spent his academic career at the university. He gave a speech in Welsh as he unveiled a mural of a poem by Tudur Hallam, Professor of Welsh at the university and winner of the Chair in the previous year's National Eisteddfod; Edwards called it a moving tribute to his father, who had died in January 2010.[56][57]

In 2003, Edwards was made a Fellow of the University of Wales and in 2007 he became Honorary Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University.[58] In 2005 he was appointed Patron of the National College of Music and in October 2008 he was appointed President of the London Welsh Trust which runs the London Welsh Centre.[59] In April 2009 he was elected vice president, later Pro Chancellor, of Cardiff University for four years.[60][61] He was honorary President of London's Gwalia Male Choir from 2005 to 2016,[62] and is a vice president of the National Churches Trust.[63]

In 2020, Edwards criticised The Times for printing a story dismissive of the use of the Welsh language. He responded to comments in The Times written by scientist Michael Pepper in which it was suggested that his late colleague John Meurig Thomas wrote notes in Welsh purely to stop others from reading them; Edwards said that Welsh speakers do not "use our native language in our daily lives simply to thwart others".[64] In 2021, he criticised former journalist Max Hastings for commenting that the Welsh language was of "marginal value" and that Wales could not succeed as an independent country because it was "dependent on English largesse".[65]

On 5 July 2019, Edwards was awarded a fellowship of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.[66] In 2022, he was appointed a vice-president of The Bach Choir.

He is also an amateur organist, taught to play at a chapel in Llanelli, and occasionally plays at the Jewin Welsh Presbyterian Chapel in Clerkenwell, north London.[67]

Personal life

Edwards is married to Vicky Flind, a television producer, whose credits include editing This Week and Peston.[17][68] The couple live in Dulwich, London,[17] and have five children.[69] Edwards is a Christian and is a weekly churchgoer.[70] He has stated that he has had bouts of depression since 2002.[71]

Awards

Year Award Representative work Result
2001 BAFTA Cymru Best Onscreen Presenter Won
2002 Best Onscreen Presenter[72] Won
2003 Best Onscreen Presenter[32] The Exchange Won
2004 Best Onscreen Presenter[73] The Story of Welsh Won
2005 Best Onscreen Presenter[33] Won
2010 Best Onscreen Presenter[36] The Prince and the Plotter Won
2012 Best Onscreen Presenter[74] Llanelli Riots – Fire in the West Nominated

Bibliography

  • 2009, Capeli Llanelli: Our Rich Heritage, Carmarthenshire County Council,
    ISBN 0906821789
  • 2014, City Mission – the Story of London's Welsh Chapels,
    ISBN 1847719058

References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huw Edwards.

News items

Media offices
Preceded by Main Presenter of BBC News at Six
1999–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Main Presenter of BBC News at Ten
2003–present 		Incumbent
Preceded byas host until 2017 Host of BBC Election Night Coverage
2019–present
New show Main Presenter of BBC News at Five
2006–2020
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