Fall of Huw Edwards is a turning point for BBC, say experts

The dramatic fall of Huw Edwards has to be a wake-up call for broadcasters and a turning point for the embattled BBC, experts have said, days before the sentencing of the disgraced presenter on Monday.

- Alexandra Topping

With Edwards facing a potential prison term, senior leaders at the BBC are hoping the sentence will turn the page on a damaging crisis that has rocked the national broadcaster.

Experts have suggested there is no way back for Edwards, once seen as the anchor of the nation, after headed guilty pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, having accessed indecent photographs of children that were sent to him by a convicted paedophile.

Jane Martinson, a media expert, said: "This isn't a nadir for the BBC, but it needs to mark a turning point, one in which the best-paid presenters are not given special treatment and all staff feel empowered to speak up." In the past year the 62-year-old presenter has had a rapid and catastrophic fall from grace after four decades at the BBC, latterly as one of its most valuable and trusted assets.

It began with a story in the Sun in July 2023, less than a year after he announced Queen Elizabeth II's death on the BBC.