Huw Edwards: Who is his alleged victim as he breaks silence amid Channel 5 drama
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards focuses on the news presenter's victim
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards explores how the BBC news presenter groomed his alleged victim, abusing his position of trust to get exactly what he wanted.
At the time, Huw was in a powerful position of authority, while his alleged target was a vulnerable 17-year-old boy. In Channel 5’s new drama, Martin Clunes takes on the role of Huw Edwards. The film explores the newsreader’s sickening double life.
After authorities exposed and convicted him, Huw withdrew from public life. Meanwhile, his alleged victim had to pick up the pieces.
But who is Huw Edwards’ alleged victim? And what has he said about the new Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards? Here’s everything we know.
Who is Huw Edwards’ alleged victim?
The new Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards delivers an “unflinching portrait” of how powerful figures groom vulnerable people. It shows how the news presenter “seized on and exerted control” over the young man and caused lasting harm.
In the drama, actor Osian Morgan portrays Huw Edwards’ alleged victim. The show uses the name Ryan Davies for the character, but this is not his real name. Authorities have never released the alleged victim’s identity.
In July 2023, a national newspaper reported that “a top BBC star” had paid a “teenager for sexual pictures”. As rumours started to fly, other young men came forward to report similar experiences. Huw’s wife later identified the presenter as the perpetrator, triggering his fall from grace.
Authorities and the media have consistently protected the teenager’s identity. They withheld his name because he was underage and because UK law strictly protects complainants in potential sexual offence cases.
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Quite rightly, under UK law, there is a strong emphasis on protecting the anonymity of complainants in cases involving sexual misconduct.
What did Huw Edwards actually do?
What most people, including the teenager at the heart of the story, didn’t know about Huw Edwards is that the truth was far darker than the headlines suggested.
As well as paying the 17-year-old for explicit photos, Huw had committed other criminal acts, too. One of the online friendships Huw Edwards had struck up was with a man who, from December 2020 to August 2021, repeatedly sent him messages containing child abuse imagery. These included so called ‘Category A’ images, which are the most extreme.
One moving image depicted a child who was between approximately seven and nine years old. Eventually, Huw pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children at Westminster Magistrates Court in 2024.
In September 2024, the judge found Huw, who was 63 at the time, guilty of possessing indecent images of children. He subsequently received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was also told to attend a sex offender treatment programme.
What has the teenager at the heart of the story said?
In 2023, when The Sun first splashed its exposé, the teenager at the heart of the story did not feel he could speak out about the true nature of their relationship. However, when he realised that he had unwittingly been in a sexual relationship with a man who accessed child pornography, he was finally able to cut off all contact with Edwards. This ultimately gave him the strength to start his recovery and tell his story.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards is based on “extensive factual research”, including exclusive first-hand interviews with those at the heart of the story. Writers were also given access to many of the text messages between Huw Edwards and his alleged teenage victim.
The teenager, now a man of 23, was ready to help raise awareness around online safety. Huw’s alleged victim worked with the programme to tell his side of the story so “no one who has been silenced feels they are alone”.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards includes an onscreen message from the alleged victim at the end of the programme in which says he hopes his story will help others who feel powerless.
Is Ryan Davies his real name?
Using the name Ryan Davies to protect his identity, Huw Edwards’ alleged victim worked with producers on the scripts. He says in his message: “I chose to tell my story now for the first time so that no one who has been silenced feels they are alone. Your truth matters and it deserves to be heard.
“After years of struggle, I have finally overcome my battle with drugs. I refuse to let Huw Edwards or what he did define who I am or the life I will yet lead.”
The show also covers how the family of Ryan tried to complain to the BBC but had problems with the procedure, which the BBC apologised for in 2024 and has since reviewed.
Read more: Huw Edwards blasts Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards in rare statement
