Why is Huw Edwards in hospital? Mental health history explained as newsreader is named as suspended BBC presenter

Veteran presenter Huw Edwards has seen his battle with mental health thrust into the limelight after his wife, Vicky Flind, revealed he is the suspended presenter at the heart of the recent BBC scandal.

The 61-year-old, who has become the face of the British broadcaster over his four-decade-long spell, including covering Queen Elizabeth II's death and funeral, has been admitted to hospital in the wake of the allegations.

On Sunday (9 July), the BBC revealed it has suspended one of its male stars after The Sun reported a member of the presenting team paid a vulnerable teenager over £30,000 for 'sexual explicit pictures' but had left their identity unknown. Further allegations have since surfaced, including the individual breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules to meet-up with a 23-year-old.

After plenty of speculation, which led to some of the corporations biggest stars like Rylan Clarke and Gary Lineker to publicly distance themselves from the claims, Huw Edwards was officially named as the suspended BBC presenter by his wife in a statement posted on Wednesday (12 July).

Here is everything you need to know about why Huw Edwards is in hospital and what he has said about his battle with mental health in the past.

Why has Huw Edwards been admitted to hospital?

Huw Edwards is currently receiving treatment and being monitored at a hospital after he experienced a serious episode. He is expected to remain at the facility for the "foreseeable future".

Detailing the newsreader's condition in the statement confirming his identity as the suspended BBC presenter, Edwards' wife Vicky Flind explained: "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. Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.

“To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday. In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. 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.”

What is Huw Edwards' history with mental health?

This is not the first time Huw Edwards' battle with mental illness has been discussed, with the 61-year-old opening up to Alastair Campbell and Men's Health UK about the difficulties of living with depression and anxiety, explaining how it would "hit in a strong wave" and "go away".

Edwards revealed he has suffered with the illnesses since 2002 and said: "I'm pretty clear that I have suffered - and do suffer - from depression. It's not anxiety, although it includes anxiety, but it tends to hit me in a strong wave and then go away, I think at least I now know when I'm going to enter a phase like that.

"Your mind goes into a place where you don't want to do anything. You can't make any decisions. Things that you usually enjoy, you dread. You come into work and obviously, you do a professional job, but you're kind of pushing your way through it. And, of course, if it's very bad - as it has been a few times over the course of 20 years - you can't work. During the worst one I had, I couldn't get out of bed.

During his special S4C program, Edwards explained: "Like everyone that suffers with depression, you don't get one bout of it. It comes and goes. For me, it started around 2002 I think. I went down fairly quickly and I couldn't understand it.

"I couldn't get out of bed. I didn't want to go to work. I didn't want to speak to anybody. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I wasn't happy in work. I couldn't describe how overwhelming it was. I had a bit of a scare and I had never experienced that before. Eventually it did alleviate, and then I had another bout that wasn't quite so severe in the years after that."

In August 2022, Huw Edwards revealed struggles with his weight due to depression and how he turned to junk food to "numb his emotional pain" following the death of his father in 2010.