Martin Clunes Reflects on Portraying Controversial News Anchor Huw Edwards: “We Watched Him Every Night”
Martin Clunes asserts that the public in the UK remains largely unaware of the complete narrative surrounding disgraced BBC news anchor Huw Edwards.
Edwards, who admitted to paying a teenager for sexual images and subsequently pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, is at the center of a new drama on Paramount UK’s network 5, with Clunes portraying the lead role.
During line rehearsals, Clunes noted the prevalence of misinformation regarding Edwards’s case. “Did anybody here know the whole story before the show?” he asked the audience at a recent London screening of *Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards*. “There was a lot of fudgery around it. There was sympathy for him until they found what was on his phone, but I think maybe everybody lost interest by that point because the next bit of news came along. Donald Trump had done something,” he remarked.
The scandal surrounding Edwards created a significant controversy for the BBC. The drama, set to debut next week, features *Under Salt Marsh* star Osian Morgan as Ryan (a pseudonym), the teenager groomed by Edwards, who provided input on the scripts.
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Before the scandal, Edwards was a respected news anchor known for announcing Queen Elizabeth II’s death and overseeing the BBC’s general election coverage. “I don’t really sound like him; it was sort of my version of him,” Clunes reflected, emphasizing the wealth of archival footage available for study. “He sort of seeped in a bit.”
Clunes observed a “slight” variance between Edwards’s on-screen persona and his off-screen demeanor. He humorously noted that his initial reaction upon being approached for this role was, “Michael Sheen’s busy,” referencing the actor known for portraying various media figures.
In preparing for the drama, Clunes forged a connection with Morgan while rehearsing the extensive phone conversations between their characters. “That was the perfect way to get that genuine intimacy,” he said.
Morgan expressed that portraying Ryan is among the highlights of his career. “I was glad when I landed the role as I had previously been coming to terms with the fact that my niche in this business was going to be playing antagonists. So I was desperate for it,” he shared.
The drama is produced by documentary filmmaker Wonderhood Studios. Executive producer Sam Anstiss commented on the timing of the project, noting that it is an appropriate moment for Edwards’s victim to share his story. “People have talked about the timing of this drama, and I’d say the timing is really right because the victim feels it’s right,” she stated. “He’s ready to tell his story, and there are really urgent themes in this drama around online safety, child pornography, the leniency of the sentencing.”
