Martin Clunes to star as disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards in new drama on 5

A new drama on the downfall of disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards will see Doc Martin star Martin Clunes play the lead role. The two-part factual series will recount how one of the most recognisable figures in British television was at the centre of one of the biggest scandals at the public broadcaster.

With the working title of Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, the first collaboration between 5’s factual and scripted commissioning teams. Clunes will portray the newsreader in the new 5 series, which says it will recount the presenter’s “double life” and how the scandal unfolded, featuring interviews from those who first reported the story.

Edwards was one of the BBC’s highest-paid newsreaders, known for presenting the BBC’s News at Ten for decades, delivering some of the biggest stories to the British Public including Queen Elizabeth II’s death, before pleading guilty to making indecent images of children in July 2024.

His downfall came after a report by the Sun in July 2023 alleged that a “top BBC star” had paid a teenager for sexual pictures. Days later, Edwards’ wife named him as the presenter at the centre of the scandal and the newsreader resigned in April.

In June 2024, he was charged following a Met Police investigation. A month later, Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children and admitted to having 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven of the most serious type.

Ben Frow, chief content officer at 5, said: “This is an important and shocking story of how a man in a position of power and trust betrayed that status. By gaining exclusive access to the key individuals involved and those who investigated the story, we explore the human cost behind the headlines.

“As a close collaboration between 5’s factual and scripted teams, this is a first for the channel.”

The new series will be directed by Michael Samuels, known for The Windermere Children and Any Human Heart.