BBC sex scandal: Who is Huw Edwards?

Huw Edwards, the BBC News presenter at the centre of a shocking controversy around soliciting explicit pictures from a teenager, is one of the most high-profile broadcasters in the UK.

Not only is Edwards trusted by views, but he is also held in great esteem by the UK-based broadcaster and has been BBC's choice for coverage of major national events.

Before the scandal surfaced and speculations about the presenter's identity began to float last week, Edwards was set to meet King Charles.

However, after the 61-year-old's wife, Vicky Flind, issued a statement naming him as the BBC presenter facing the allegation, his career is under great duress.

Flind, yesterday, issued a statement identifying Edwards as the man behind the scandal.

However, she also revealed that, amidst the recent allegations, Edwards was hospitalised for a serious mental health episode, adding that he would address the allegations once he recovered.

Edwards time with BBC

The presenter joined BBC News as a trainee in 1984 before eventually securing a job as a political reporter for BBC Wales.

He became BBC Wales's parliamentary correspondent two years later and was the BBC's chief political correspondent at Westminster by the early 1990s.

When the BBC News channel — formerly called BBC News 24 — launched in 1997, Edwards became a regular face for the channel.

Edwards' confident and level-headed performance during those times had impressed BBC bigwigs.

By 1999, the presenter, who previously worked as an occasional cover presenter on BBC One's 'Six O'Clock News', became one of the programme's main anchors.

In 2003, his position in the channel strengthened as he was promoted to the Ten O'Clock News, frequently presenting and commentating on major national events for the channel.

Some major events covered by Edwards inlcude:

• Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (as they were known at the time) in 2011
• Funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh (2021)
• Queen's Diamond and Platinum Jubilee (2012 and 2022)
• Coronation of King Charles (2023)
• Nelson Mandela's death in 2013
• Announcement of Brexit referendum in 2016 (co-host)
• Announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Following the monarch's death, Edwards went to front coverage of her funeral.

So praised was the coverage that just last month won Edwards and his colleagues a TRIC award.

Moreover, the BBC presenter had recently begun to cover the general election for the broadcaster.

Furthermore, the Welsh broadcaster is one of the BBC's top earners, making around £435,000. In 2012, Edwards even cameoed in the James Bond film Skyfall.

However, in 2021, Edwards indicated his stint as the corporation's chief news anchor might not last long, citing the "taxing" nature of the job as a reason for his possible departure from the channel.

Later that same year, the Welsh presenter made a documentary about his career, revealing he had suffered bouts of depression for over two decades.

He also revealed he had been left "bedridden" by this struggle with mental health.