Huw Edwards in hospital amid explicit images scandal

BBC presenter Huw Edwards is the man accused of paying for explicit images. His wife says he is in hospital for mental health issues and asks for privacy. Police found no offence after fresh inquiries.

H uw Edwards, one of the BBC’s most famous presenters, is currently facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.

It is his wife, Vicky Flind, who has released a statement on his behalf, explaining that he is suffering from serious mental health issues and is currently receiving inpatient hospital care.

Flind has requested privacy for her family during this difficult time. Huw Edward intends to respond to the allegations once he is well enough to do so, she said.

South Wales police have concluded their inquiries into the matter after a meeting with the BBC and Met police. Fresh inquiries were carried out following the meeting. In April, the police initially determined that no offence had been committed. After the announcement by the Met on Wednesday, South Wales police reached the same conclusion.

Flind’s statement

In her statement to the PA news agency, Vicky Flind said:

“In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family. I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.

“Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years.

“The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.

“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published. To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.

“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. I know that Huw is deeply sorry that so many colleagues have been impacted by the recent media speculation. We hope this statement will bring that to an end.”

GOING FURTHER

Sources

▪ Text: This piece was first published in PMP Magazine on 12 July 2023.
▪ Cover: Flickr/The National Churches Trust. (Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)