Huw Edwards pokes fun at retirement speculation, says he will retire at 80

Broadcaster Huw Edwards has joked that he doesn’t plan to retire for another 20 years – at the age of 80 – as he celebrates his 60th birthday today.

Speculation had mounted about his future after he told Radio Cymru on Sunday that he couldn’t see himself continuing to occupy the presenter’s chair on the BBC news for very long.

He told Dewi Llwyd’s Sunday Programme that he found the nightly news “taxing” and thought it was “fair” for the viewers and ambitious co-workers to see a change in presenters.

The interview led to speculation in some news outlets that he was being put under pressure at the BBC to make way for others.

However, Huw Edwards poked fun at the speculation today, saying on social media: “60 is the new 40 – delighted to confirm my retirement plans for… 2041,” he posted. “Thanks for all the birthday wishes.”

6️⃣0️⃣ is the new 4️⃣0️⃣ – delighted to confirm my retirement plans for… 2041. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. #diolch #penblwydd #birthdayboy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @BBCNews pic.twitter.com/FspeAGn19k

— Huw Edwards (@thehuwedwards) August 17, 2021

The News at Ten presenter had told Dewi Llwyd on Sunday that he was beginning to consider his future as a news presenter.

“I believe that a time comes when you’re bound to re-assess what’s in front of you,” he said. “That’s perfectly natural.

“And now that a big milestone is here, which is 60 years old, it’s natural for a man to think ‘am I going to continue in this job for another five years or do I want to do something different?’

“But the nightly news business, after 20 years, that can be taxing, even though I still enjoy the job,” he said.

“But I don’t think I’ll be doing that for long. Because I believe that, in the first place, I think it’s fair for the viewers to get a change.

“Secondly, I have co-workers who are very talented – it’s time to give them a chance too.

“And I think it’s an appropriate time to consider what’s ahead.

“I won’t disappear tomorrow from the 10 o clock news because I’m still enjoying myself. But of course, I’m thinking about the working patterns of the future.

“And the truth is that I don’t want to sustain these working patterns for a long time to come because I don’t believe it’s a very wise thing at all.”