Ofcom investigates Huw Edwards complaint over Channel 5 drama
Developing story first seen 1 hour ago
Ofcom has opened an investigation into a fairness and privacy complaint about Channel 5’s drama on Huw Edwards, and Edwards has confirmed he made the complaint. He says the programme gave a misleading account and that he was not given a fair chance to respond; Channel 5 says it stands by the series and will defend it.
The two-part drama, starring Martin Clunes, aired in March and portrayed Edwards’s conviction for making indecent images of children, as well as his interactions with a teenager identified as Ryan. Edwards pleaded guilty to three charges in July 2024 and received a suspended six-month prison sentence that September. He says Ryan was an adult and a blackmailer; Channel 5 says the programme drew on interviews, messages and court reporting, and that allegations were put to Edwards through his solicitors before broadcast.
- Ofcom is investigating Edwards’s complaint about Channel 5’s drama.
- Edwards alleges the programme was misleading and unfair.
- Channel 5 stands by the series and will defend it.
Full account
Ofcom is investigating a complaint by former BBC presenter Huw Edwards about Channel 5’s two-part drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. The programme, starring Martin Clunes and made by Wonderhood Studios, aired in March. Ofcom says the case concerns its fairness and privacy rules; it has not published the specific grounds of the complaint.
The drama depicts events surrounding Edwards’s fall from prominence, including an earlier newspaper report about payments for sexual images and his contact with a person identified in reports as Ryan. It also covers Edwards’s criminal case. He pleaded guilty in July 2024 to three charges of making indecent images of children and received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in September.
Edwards confirmed that he had complained to Ofcom. He says the programme presented a misleading and unfair account, containing inaccuracies to which he was not given a proper chance to respond. He also said Ryan was an adult and a blackmailer, and expressed remorse for responding to his messages. These are Edwards’s claims; the regulator has not stated whether it accepts them.
Channel 5 says it stands by the drama and will defend the complaint. The broadcaster has said the production drew on interviews with Ryan and his family, journalists involved in reporting the story, text exchanges and court coverage. Ofcom will consider material from Edwards and the broadcaster before deciding whether the programme breached its rules. The investigation is a review of the complaint, not a finding against either side.
Where outlets differ
The Guardian reports that the drama attracted 3.8 million viewers over four weeks and became Channel 5’s highest-rated programme of the year; the Daily Mail does not include those figures.
The Guardian identifies Krempelwood Entertainment alongside Wonderhood Studios as a production company. The Daily Mail names Wonderhood Studios alone.
The Daily Mail gives more detail about the sentence, the images involved and the limits on challenging a magistrates’ court sentence. The Guardian focuses more on the drama’s sources and the regulator’s process.
The Daily Mail says Edwards made the complaint and confirmed it in a statement to that newspaper; the Guardian says he confirmed it to the Guardian. Both report his objection to the programme’s account and Channel 5’s intention to defend it.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Ofcom launches probe into Huw Edwards drama Power – after disgraced BBC star made ‘fairness’ complaint to watchdog”.