The feature-length factal drama was rigorously researched but Huw has asked for it to be examined inder the ‘fairness and privacy’ clause of the Broadcasting Code
Huw Edwards has filed an Ofcom complaint against the drama about his downfall
Ofcom has launched a probe into Channel 5’s factual drama about Huw Edwards following a complaint which can only have come from the ex-BBC newsreader himself.
The two-part factual drama, called Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards and starring Martin Clunes as the disgraced journalist, is being examined for “fairness and privacy” under Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code.
The investigation’s criteria covers “unjust or unfair treatment of individuals or organisations in programmes” or “unwarranted infringement of privacy in programmes”.
Huw, 65, has not publicly stated that he has called for the probe. But under the Ofcom code, in order to make a fairness and privacy complaint, it must come from either the affected person directly or by someone authorised to complain on their behalf.
An Ofcom spokesperson told Broadcast : “ We are investigating a fairness and privacy complaint about this programme.”
The feature-length film, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, told the story of the former BBC News presenter’s shattered career. It showed him befriending a 17-year-old boy and grooming him to send explicit photos or videos in exchange for cash. It also showed him linking up with a convicted paedophile online, leading to a criminal conviction for making indecent images of children, for which he pleaded guilty and was given a suspended sentence.
The 90-minute special is currently Channel 5’s highest-rating show of the year, pulling in 3.8m viewers over 28 days when it aired in March.
Ahead of the drama transmitting, Huw claimed that producers had failed to “check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative” in the factual drama.
In a statement after the drama aired, he accused Channel 5 of “belatedly” asking him for a response after the drama had been made and claims the broadcaster “refused to disclose whether any of those making allegations” used in the research of the drama “had been paid for their contributions”.
In response, a Channel 5 spokesperson insisted it had been “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”.
They added: “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.”
Huw resigned from the BBC on health grounds, before being charged in June 2024 following a Metropolitan Police investigation.
The Welsh newsreader pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to three charges of making indecent images of children. These included seven category A images, the most serious classification, which had been sent to him on WhatsApp by 25-year-old convicted sex offender Alex Williams.
Ofcom is now expected to take representations from both sides before either upholding the complaint or dismissing it.
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