Channel 5 viewers have been left reeling from the feature film on the downfall of Huw Edwards, detailing how he groomed a young man over several years.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards aired on the broadcaster late on Monday night, after facing intense criticism from the former BBC news anchor himself.
Ahead of the 90-minute ripped-from-the-headlines drama, Channel 5 advised viewer discretion. It delivered an unflinching portrait of Edwards, who was elevated to nigh-on national treasure status after delivering the news of the Queen’s death to the country.
But, as the queasy drama detailed, Edwards (Martin Clunes) was at the same time messaging a young Ryan Davies (whose real identity has never been revealed), played by Osian Morgan, and exchanging large sums of money for sexual images.
It concludes with Edwards’s subsequent conviction for three charges of making indecent images of children, for which he was handed a suspended jail sentence. He is now a registered sex offender.
The drama revealed a link between the two stories, as Edwards was sent the images of children being sexually abused by a convicted paedophile, who also introduced him to Ryan.
As the drama states in a disclaimer, it is based on ‘extensive’ interviews with the victim, his family and the journalists who revealed his story, but some elements have been dramatised.
What are Channel 5 viewers saying?
The response from viewers on social media has been fairly unanimous praise, with Martin Clunes’s performance and the film’s dramatic final scene singled out.
In it, Edwards sits in the BBC News studio and reads out his own conviction as a newsreader to viewers.
Reacting to the scene on X, John Calladine described it as ‘brilliant’ while Kaz said it was ‘genius’, congratulating the writers on the drama, which left her ‘sickened’.
Meanwhile, Kevin Michaels tweeted: ‘Just give Martin Clunes the Bafta now. The best compliment that I can give him is that he chilled me to the bone.’
Metro's thoughts on Power
Senior TV Reporter Rebecca Cook shares her take here…
I had doubts Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards (miserable title choice) would be able to justify itself. But it’s a compelling depiction of grooming across a vast power imbalance. For the most part, it’s respectful and toes the line that I’m sure a pack of lawyers established.
There are disclaimers all over the place. The camera cuts around much of the gratuity. The one hideous exception is a desk-bound Edwards masturbation scene. I wanted to be doused in disinfection after watching it. That might have been the point, but when restraint had been exercised elsewhere, it felt gratuitous.
The final scene acknowledges the irony of someone spending decades delivering us the news, only to eerily become it. It doesn’t quite come off, but it certainly hammers home the severity of Edwards’s crimes, for which he did not receive any jail time.
Watching all of it, you might feel the need for that disinfectant too.
Elsewhere, @atvfriend had incredibly high praise for the broadcaster, writing: ‘Channel 5, huge congratulations on Power, the best drama you have made and an important dark story to tell.
‘I hope other vulnerable people will seek help watching.’
Metro‘s own readers were particularly taken with Clunes’s performance, with several praising his underrated chops as an actor.
Sharing their thoughts on Facebook, Clare Hunt wrote: ‘I think Martin Clunes is a fabulous actor. I don’t think he always gets the credit he is due.’
‘What a performance, the voice, the mannerisms all spot on. A harrowing story excellently told. Congratulations to everyone involved,’ John McDougall echoed.
What have Channel 5 bosses said?
Channel 5 commissioners Guy Davies and Paul Testar have spoken about the ending for the film, saying the idea came early in the development process.
Testar told Variety: ‘It felt like a very important thing to end the story on, to remind the audience what the scale and detail of Edward’s crimes were.’
Davies added that it meant Edwards could be ‘finally accountable to the public in the medium which he worked in’.
The film noted in a concluding disclaimer that Edwards had been contacted for comment on the piece but had not provided any, to which Davies told the publication they ‘didn’t make it as a collaboration with him’.
When asked if the broadcaster would ever platform Edwards’s version of events, which he has publicly said he plans to share, they simply said ‘no’.
What has Huw Edwards said?
Despite pleading guilty to the charges against him in 2024, Edwards shared a statement ahead of the drama that came out on the offensive.
He asserted that ‘Channel 5’s “factual drama” is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened’ and added: ‘I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children.’
The 64-year-old was also reported as being ‘furious’ over the upcoming drama.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards is available to watch on Channel 5‘s streaming service My5.
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