The BBC is to continue its “fact-finding investigations” into allegations against BBC veteran broadcaster Huw Edwards following the naming of the presenter by his wife on Wednesday night.
After days of conjecture and Edwards’ name being speculated about on social media, Vicky Flind issued a statement via the PA news agency to say her husband is receiving in-patient hospital care.
Naming the 61-year-old as the BBC presenter facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images, a story first reported by the Sun newspaper last week, Ms Flind said the father-of-five is “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now receiving treatment.
The “fact-finding investigations” come as BBC Newsnight reported new claims from one current and one former BBC worker, who said they had received “inappropriate messages” from Edwards, “some late at night and signed off with kisses”.
Both said there was “a reluctance among junior staff to complain to managers about the conduct of high-profile colleagues in case it adversely affected their careers,” the programme said.
Following the family statement, BBC Director-General Tim Davie said in a note to staff it is “important” that the work on the internal investigation continues, adding: “I want to be clear that in doing so we will follow due process.”
He also stressed that the corporation’s “immediate concern is our duty of care to all involved”.
The Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that no criminal offence has been committed by the presenter, and that no specific details or information about further allegations reported in the media have been provided to them.
The Sun said it has no plans to publish further allegations and will co-operate with the BBC’s internal investigation process.
In Thursday’s edition of the paper, the front page focuses on Ms Flind’s statement and says Edwards is facing further claims from BBC colleagues over “suggestive messages” sent on social media.
In the days leading up to Edwards being named, BBC presenters including Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark, Nicky Campbell and Jeremy Vine were forced to publicly deny they were the unnamed presenter at the centre of allegations.
Vine appealed on Twitter for the presenter to “come forward”, and said on his Channel 5 show: “It’s his decision but he needs to come forward now, I think.”
The 58-year-old, who also hosts an afternoon programme on BBC Radio 2, added: “I had a situation: I was going to see Bruce Springsteen at the weekend and my wife said ‘Are you going to be safe there?’
“That’s how serious this thing is, and she gave me a baseball cap and said ‘You’d better wear this’.”
Edwards is the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader, with a pay bracket of £435,000–£439,999, putting him fourth on the top 10 list, the corporation’s annual report revealed on Tuesday.
The presenter was last seen on BBC One’s News At Ten on July 5th when he co-presented a special edition live from Edinburgh as the King was honoured in the Scottish capital.
Sources have made it clear to PA that Edwards has not resigned from the BBC.
The statement from his wife, a TV producer who has worked on BBC’s This Week politics show and Robert Peston’s ITV programme, Peston, to PA said: “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.”
She said that once the presenter, who has worked for the BBC for four decades, is well enough, he “intends to respond to the stories that have been published” and added that her husband was first told there were allegations “being made against him last Thursday”.
Ms Flind asked for privacy for the family and said: “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.”
Edwards has previously spoken about his mental health, revealing in a documentary in 2021 that he has suffered bouts of depression which leave him “bedridden” since 2002.
