(FILES) Then BBC presenter Huw Edwards speaks during the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony at Methodist Central Hall in London on January 27, 2020. Edwards, one of the most recognisable faces on UK television, has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, Metropolitan Police said on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Chris Jackson / POOL / AFP)
LONDON, United Kingdom — Former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards, one of the most recognizable faces on UK television, has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, police said Monday.
Edwards, who resigned from the BBC in April on “medical advice,” six months after he was initially arrested, was charged on June 26 and has been bailed to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, police added.
The offenses, which are alleged to have taken place between December 2020 and April 2022, relate to images shared on a WhatsApp chat, police said in a statement.
Edwards, 62, was the BBC’s lead presenter on key events, such as the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, but was suspended in July 2023 when allegations first emerged.
He had also been the anchor of the BBC’s flagship 10:00 pm news program since 2003.
He quit on April 22 after 40 years with the broadcaster.
As the accusations became front-page news last July, Edwards’ wife Vicky Flind said the father-of-five was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and had been admitted to hospital.
Edwards himself has not publicly commented on the allegations.
The BBC’s brand has been built on public trust but the broadcaster has been rocked in recent years by scandals which saw some big names revealed as serial sex offenders.