Huw Edwards’ crimes were ‘appalling’, BBC boss says – as corporation still in talks about recovering part of salary
The BBC director-general has condemned Huw Edwards’ crimes as “appalling” – and said the corporation is still having conversations about recovering part of his salary paid following his arrest.
Tim Davie addressed the scandal following Edwards‘ sentencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society (RTS) annual convention, Mr Davie said he could not see the former presenter ever working at the BBC again “for obvious reasons”.
“This man has just been convicted of appalling crimes and it’s pretty straightforward in my mind,” he said.
Huw Edwards was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Pic: PA
Edwards was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of “making” indecent images of children.
The newsreader paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type, the court heard.
Asked how badly the scandal has damaged the BBC’s reputation, Mr Davie said there was “no doubt an affair like this impacts our reputation”.
“I don’t know yet in terms of the direct impact on trust,” he added. Trust in the BBC is “essential”, he said, and you can “maintain trust by doing the right things”.
‘We want the money back’
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Huw Edwards leaves court
Presenter Amol Rajan, who hosted the session, asked Mr Davie why Edwards’ pay continued after the BBC was made aware of allegations against him.
Mr Davie said they “wrestled with it” but took the decision “that pay continues until someone is charged”. He added: “I think it was the right decision based on current policy.”
Earlier this year, before the charges against Edwards were announced, it was revealed the former newsreader was among the BBC’s highest-paid stars of the last financial year, despite being off-air since July 2023.
He was first arrested in November 2023, and the BBC has asked for his salary paid after that period – thought to be about £200,000 – to be handed back.
“We want the money back and we’ve asked for it back, and we’re waiting to hear back,” Mr Davie said. Discussions are still ongoing, he added.
Read more:
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Victims’ families remain the “primary concern”, Mr Davie continued, saying young people who raised concerns over Edwards were “taken seriously” at the time allegations were made.
“We’re just shocked, and there’s a lot of upset because across the BBC,” he said. “We’ve got great teams, good people and they feel deeply, deeply let down.”
Strictly Come Dancing returned at the weekend – with no mention of the controversy surrounding the show. Pic: BBC/Guy Levy
Mr Davie was also asked about the recent controversy surrounding Strictly Come Dancing.
The hit BBC show returned at the weekend as the corporation continues its investigation into allegations of abuse behind the scenes – although the programme did not address this.
Mr David said the broadcaster is now “pretty close to the end” of its investigation into the allegations, but did not give further details.
Rajan asked if it would have been “useful to report it before the new Strictly series started”, to which he replied: “Many things in life would be useful, but we have to do the process.”
Mr Davie said he thought it was “unfair” to say talent in the TV industry might get “indulged and excused”, but that he was “optimistic” that the BBC “is changing”.
He added: “I think the environment’s different, I think this is why it hurts so much when these things happen, but we have to prove we’re only as good as our actions.”
Gary Lineker will step down as host of Match Of The Day at the end of the season, the BBC has confirmed.
The 63-year-old will continue to host coverage of the FA Cup in 2025/26 and the World Cup in 2026, the broadcaster announced.
Lineker will continue with the MOTD Top Ten podcast while his The Rest Is Football podcast, which features BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, will now be hosted on BBC Sounds.
The former England footballer said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup.
“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week.
“He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
Analysis: Will the next generation know him only as a podcasting mogul?
Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and Lineker, who present the podcast The Rest Is Football. Pic: AP
Lineker has hosted the Premier League highlights show since 1999, after his predecessor Des Lynam moved to ITV.
He is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, which produces popular shows such as The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics and The Rest Is Entertainment, as well as his own football podcast.
The company, founded in 2014, claims to be the UK’s largest independent podcast firm and said in September its podcasts had been downloaded more than 380 million times so far this year.
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Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid star in recent years for his work on shows including Match Of The Day and Sports Personality Of The Year, as well as coverage of major tournaments including World Cups and European Championships.
He received about £1.35m during the 2023-24 financial year, according to the BBC’s most recent figures.
It is unclear who will take over from Lineker on Match Of The Day.
Former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermaine Jenas had at one point been considered to be his natural successor but he was sacked from the BBC in August over claims of inappropriate behaviour.
Lineker enjoyed a successful career as a striker, winning 80 caps for England, before moving into broadcasting.
Entertainment
Match Of The Day without Lineker is the end of an era – will the next generation know him only as a podcasting mogul?
No one under the age of 25 knows Match of the Day without Gary Lineker.
A TV era is ending with the Saturday night hot seat being vacated when the Premier League season ends in May, Sky News has been told.
The arrival of a new director of BBC Sport made this decision increasingly inevitable as Alex Kay-Jelski is said to be shaking up how sport is covered on air and online.
Gary Lineker next to the FA Cup trophy in January of this year. Pic: PA
Few could have anticipated Lineker – the England scoring sensation – reinventing himself as a broadcasting institution, and becoming the heir to Des Lynam from 1999.
Few certainly could have anticipated his longevity on BBC One and the longevity of the football highlights format – with clips of games available online long before MOTD’s post-10pm kick-off.
There is no doubting how accomplished Lineker has become in the challenging live TV environment.
But off-air conduct became a growing source of friction between the BBC hierarchy and its highest earner.
Choosing to use his social media platform to dish out political views demonstrated a social conscience.
But those posts – critical of the Conservatives and pro-Palestinian – sent out to millions of followers seemed to conflict with social media policies at an organisation that sees itself as a bastion of political neutrality.
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Gary Lineker to leave BBC’s MOTD
Ultimately they sparked one of the biggest political furores in BBC history when a comparison of the Tory government’s asylum policy with 1930s Germany led to him being taken off air last year.
And BBC colleagues walked out in solidarity.
Presenter Gary Lineker and pundit Alan Shearer, returning to TV screens following Lineker’s row with the BBC over impartiality last year. Pic: PA
He didn’t want to back down and scored a victory, allowing him to express views on issues as long as it did not cross into campaigning.
But his views on football also caused concern with criticism of the England team going beyond anything he would say on the BBC.
The expletive used about Three Lions performances at Euro 2024 came on his own The Rest Is Football podcast, generating weeks of coverage promoting the sideline.
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But the sideline has developed into a huge commercial success with podcasts from Goalhanger dominating the listening chart from politics to history and entertainment, beyond his own football shows.
The BBC could continue to buy in Goalhanger podcasts after Lineker presents his last World Cup for them in 2026.
And soon a new generation might only know Lineker, not as the striker or BBC presenter, but as the podcasting millionaire.
Megan Fox has revealed she is pregnant as she posted a daring photo of her appearing to be naked and covered in what looked like black paint.
Cradling her baby bump, the 38-year-old Hollywood actress and mother-of-three knelt on the floor and stared into the camera, with the caption “Nothing is ever really lost. Welcome back”.
A second image in the Instagram post showed her hand holding a pregnancy test that read “YES+”.
Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actress Fox shares three children, Noah, Bodhi and Journey, with her ex-husband, actor Brian Austin Green.
The pair filed for divorce in 2020, the same year that the US star began her relationship with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, real name Colson Baker.
Although she did not specifically reveal the father of her unborn child, Fox tagged 34-year-old Kelly in the post.
The caption “Nothing is ever really lost. Welcome back” may be a reference to a previous miscarriage.
It remains to be seen whether Fox will publicly discuss the baby’s father.
Fox with Machine Gun Kelly in 2022. Pic: Reuters/ Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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On the Call Her Daddy podcast in March this year, host Alex Cooper asked her to address her relationship with Kelly.
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“I think what I’ve learned from being in this relationship is that it’s not for public consumption,” Fox replied.
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