Newsreader at centre of BBC controversy receiving hospital care for ‘foreseeable future’, wife reveals
The wife of newsreader Huw Edwards has said he is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is receiving “in-patient hospital care” as she named him as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.
After intense speculation as to the identity of the BBC presenter at the centre of the allegations, Vicky Flind said in a statement that she was speaking out on her husband’s behalf after “what have been five extremely difficult days for our family”.
Following the name reveal, the BBC and The Sun have both faced criticism for the handling of the events of the last few days, with colleagues and high profile media personalities speaking out in support of Edwards (pictured) on Wednesday night.
In a message to staff, seen by the PA news agency, the BBC’s director-general, Tim Davie, said the words from Flind were “a reminder that the last few days have seen personal lives played out in public.
“At the heart of this are people and their families.”
He said: “This will no doubt be a difficult time for many after a challenging few days.
“I want to reassure you that our immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved.”
Mr Davie referenced an earlier request from the Metropolitan Police asking the corporation to pause its internal investigation, saying: “It is important we now continue with this work.
“I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.”
The Sun newspaper, which first reported allegations against the then-unnamed presenter last week claiming they had paid a young person tens of thousands of pounds for explicit images, said they had no plans to publish further allegations and would co-operate with the BBC’s internal investigation process.
Father of five Edwards is the BBC’s highest paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000–£439,999, putting him fourth on the top 10 list, the corporation’s annual report revealed on Tuesday.
The presenter was last seen on BBC One’s News At Ten on July 5 when he co-presented a special edition live from Edinburgh as the King was honoured in the Scottish capital and sources have made it clear to PA that Edwards, 61, has not resigned from the BBC.
The statement from his wife, a TV producer who has worked on BBC’s This Week politics show and Robert Peston’s ITV programme, Peston, to the PA news agency said: “Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues.
“As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.
“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.”
She said that once the presenter, who has worked for the BBC for four decades, was well enough, he “intends to respond to the stories that have been published” and added that her husband was first told there were allegations “being made against him last Thursday”.
Ms Flind asked for privacy for the family and said: “I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation.
“We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”
The Welsh journalist and broadcaster has previously spoken about his mental health, revealing in a documentary in 2021 he had bouts of depression which have left him “bedridden” since 2002.
The Metropolitan Police said no criminal offence had been committed by the presenter, adding: “There is no further police action.
“As such, the Met has advised the BBC it can continue with its internal investigation.”
The statement added: “We are aware of media reporting of further allegations against the same individual.
“No specific details or information about these allegations have been passed to us and therefore there is no police action at this time.”
The BBC said in a statement the corporation was “grateful” to the Met Police for “completing this work at speed”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “The police had previously asked us to pause our fact-finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”
The Sun said the allegations published by the paper were “always very serious” and a spokesperson added: “It is right that the BBC’s Corporate Investigations Team continues to investigate these thoroughly and deals with them in the way that they think is appropriate.”
Spokespersons for Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak both refused to comment, saying it was a matter for the BBC.
Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2023, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Chris Jackson / PA.
