Shock at revelation Huw Edwards entered Eisteddfod poetry competition

Nation.Cymru staff

There was shock and anger after it was revealed disgraced former BBC presenter Huw Edwards had competed in the poetry competition at this year’s National Eisteddfod.

Welsh language news service Newyddion S4C broke the story revealing that the ex-newsreader submitted his entry under the pseudonym ‘Gelyn’, meaning ‘Enemy’ in Welsh.

All entries for the competition, for which the winner receives the ‘Crown’, are entered under pseudonyms to ensure that judges can make decisions without knowing the identities of writers.

Edwards said the poem was written as a personal tribute to his late father.

On his Substack, he wrote: “I drew inspiration from one of the main competition themes set for the 2026 National Eisteddfod of Wales: the theme is Adnabod (‘Knowing’).

“The poem is above all a personal tribute to my late father, Hywel Teifi Edwards, the pre-eminent Eisteddfod historian and an authority on the cultural condition of Victorian Wales.”

A prominent actress and survivor of childhood sexual abuse criticised the former broadcaster Huw Edwards after hearing the news.

Calling for a review of the Eisteddfod competition rules—which allow entrants to compete under a pseudonym – Sera Cracroft – an actress in Pobol y Cwm who has spoken openly about her experience of childhood sexual violence – said that seeing Edwards win the competition and be crowned on stage would have been “catastrophic”.

Since Sera Cracroft made her comments, Newyddion S4C received an email from Huw Edwards, in which he wrote:

“The poem was a tribute to my father. Nothing more, nothing less. There was no hope in the world of me winning the competition, and I knew that. It was necessary to correct the toxic narrative promoted by the media two years ago.

“It was not a poem for the nauseatingly self-righteous Welsh speakers—Sera among them—who seize every opportunity to spout off thoughtlessly on every subject under the sun.

“She and her ilk are far too ready to ignore the destructive effects of mental illness. In that respect, they are true to the tradition of London tabloid newspapers.”

Edwards received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in September 2024 after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. He was also required to register as a sex offender for seven years.

He admitted accessing 41 images of children, including seven images of the most serious category.

Yesterday – the day before the Crowning ceremony at the Garreg Las Eisteddfod – Edwards published a blog post on Substack stating that he had “tried to write a poem” for the first time in his life, having been “inspired” by the competition’s theme, “Adnabod” (Recognition/Identity).

It was confirmed today that judges had evaluated his poem and placed it in the third category.

Sera Cracroft told Newyddion S4C: “It’s a shock, to be honest, and also very disappointing. Huw has been found guilty of creating images of young children—the worst kind of images imaginable. For the child in those images, the impact lasts forever; it is what is known as a ‘life sentence’.

“Abuse is rapidly shifting into the digital realm; I don’t think Huw realises just how appalling it is that he sought the Crown.

“Had he won the Crown, the image of him being crowned before his country would have caused great pain to many survivors.

“Perhaps Huw could show more humility and try to help others, contribute in some way, or learn more about the offences of which he has been convicted.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Eisteddfod said: “We have a process in place ensuring that no one, including the adjudicator, knows in advance who has competed.

“After every Eisteddfod, we undergo an evaluation period to ensure our processes are appropriate—and this year will be no different.”

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.