First look at Martin Clunes as disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes will portray disgraced BBC presenter Huw Edwards in a new drama.

The two-part factual series, which has a working title of Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, is the first collaboration between 5’s factual and scripted commissioning teams and 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.

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.

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.

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.”

Edward’s 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, his wife named him as the presenter at the centre of the scandal and the newsreader resigned in April. He was charged in June 2024, following a Met Police investigation.

A month later, Edwards pled guilty to making indecent images of children and admitted to having 41 photographs on WhatsApp, including seven of the most serious type.

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