In a shock announcement, Huw Edwards has been named as the BBC presenter at the centre of a sex scandal that has rocked the nation’s broadcaster.
His wife Vicky Flind named him as the suspended TV star and said that her husband was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and was receiving treatment in hospital, where he would remain “for the foreseeable future”.
Huw Edwards and his wife Vicky in 2018— (Noble/Draper)
Describing the last few days as “extremely difficult” for her family, she requested privacy for all involved, including the couple’s five children.
Below we take a look at who his wife Vicky Flind is, as well as the presenter’s own well-documented history.
Who is Vicky Flind?
Vicky Flind is a television producer who has worked on several acclaimed shows such as ITV’s Peston and BBC One’s This Week.
Ms Flind was reportedly 28 when she met Mr Edwards who was 30 and working as a BBC correspondent at Westminster at the time. They didn’t start dating until much later, when Mr Edwards invited his future wife on a skiing trip after one of his friends backed out.
When their flight was delayed for 14 hours, Mr Edwards told the Daily Mail: “We started talking and haven’t ever really stopped.”
The couple were engaged in 1993 and now live in Dulwich, south London. They share five children – three sons and two daughters – together. Despite her marriage to the well-known broadcaster, not much is known about Ms Flind – with one source telling the tabloid she made a conscious decision to keep her personal life private.
During an interview with The Times, Mr Edwards credited his wife for helping him with his fitness after she pointed out he had gained weight following the death of his father in 2010.
After Ms Flind released her statement on Wednesday, her current and former colleagues praised her as a talented, hard-working, and “thoroughly decent and good person”.
Robert Peston called Ms Flind the”kindest, most decent woman “ in a statement during Wednesday’s episode of his programme Peston.
“What few of you will know is that Vicky Flind is the editor of this show, and the person who created it with me – though she hasn’t been involved tonight or at all this week,” Mr Preston said. “The Labour MP Jess Phillips tonight described Vicky as the nicest, kindest and most decent woman.
“I and everyone who works with me here would agree. It has been difficult to feel what she and her family have been going through - and to read her statement that Huw has been hospitalised with acute depression.”
One of Ms Flind’s ex-colleagues at the BBC described her as “very creative, but she’s also impish with a well-crafted and quirky sense of humour,” in a statement to the Daily Mail.
TV producer Rob Burley, who was formerly the editor of the BBC’s live political programmes, tweeted: “The only person I know who’s involved in the Huw Edwards story is his wife, Vicky Flind, who I worked with at the BBC.
“She’s a hugely talented and a thoroughly decent and good person. I hope she’s left alone now too.”
What has his wife said?
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Mrs Flind said: “In light of the recent reporting regarding the ‘BBC Presenter’ I am making this statement on behalf of my husband Huw Edwards, after what have been five extremely difficult days for our family. I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children.
Mr Edwards is being treated in hospital— (PA Archive)
“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.
“Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published.
“To be clear Huw was first told that there were allegations being made against him last Thursday.
“In the circumstances and given Huw’s condition I would like to ask that the privacy of my family and everyone else caught up in these upsetting events is respected. 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.”
The BBC star is one of the most recognisable faces on British television— (PA)
In a special S4C program on the occasion of his 60th birthday last year, Mr Edwards said his depression began in 2002 and that he “went down fairly quickly”.
“I couldn’t get out of bed. I didn’t want to go to work,” he explained. “I didn’t want to speak to anybody. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I wasn’t happy in work. I couldn’t describe how overwhelming it was. I had a bit of a scare and I had never experienced that before.”
In a 2022 interview with his former spokesperson Alistair Campbell for Men’s Health, Mr Edwards detailed his decades-long battle with depression, explaining his mental health has been “very bad a few times” ove the last 20 years.
“I’m pretty clear that I have suffered – and do suffer – from depression. It’s not anxiety, although it includes anxiety, but it tends to hit me in a strong wave and then go away,” adding he had taken up boxing to help him cope with the mental disorder.
“It’s one of the things I can do when I feel myself on the slide. I can pull my way out of it,” he told Mr Campbell. Mr Edwards also confirmed he had sought therapy and taken anti-depressants in the past, adding “I’d happily take them again if I needed to”.
Who is Huw Edwards?
Huw Edwards is one of the most recognisable faces on UK television.
A Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader, the 61-year-old is best known for anchoring BBC News at Ten in his trademark calm and professional manner.
While fronting the broadcaster’s flagship evening news programme, he has covered numerous key moments in the UK’s recent history.
Memorably, he made the momentous announcement of the late Queen’s death in September, receiving much praise from viewers for how he delivered the news.
In September, he announced the Queen’s death and covered the Coronation of King Charles III— (PA Archive)
Alistair Campbell, the ex-spokesperson for the former prime minister Tony Blair, tweeted that he thought Mr Edwards had done “superbly” and revealed the presenter “had been preparing, practicing and even rehearsing in front of his bathroom mirror for the moment for some time”.
Mr Edwards fronted BBC coverage of other notable state events, including the coronation, the Queen’s funeral, and the weddings of Prince William and Kate Middleton as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The presenter is also known for his dry wit on social media as well as his fierce Welsh pride. The two combined when he posted a photo of himself on Twitter in front of a huge Welsh flag, alongside the caption, “Flags are now mandatory - very pleased with my new backdrop for BBC News at Ten.”
Hours later he updated his followers, telling them his BBC bosses had “ordered” him to take it down.
BBC Broadcasting House, as Mr Edwards revealed as presenter at centre of storm— (PA)
Born in Bridgend, Wales, the presenter’s family moved to Llangennech, near Llanelli, when he was four years old.
Both Welsh speakers, his father, Hywel Teifi Edwards, was a Plaid Cymru and Welsh language activist, while his mother, Aerona Protheroe, was a teacher at Llanelli’s Ysgol Gyfun y Strade.
How long has he worked for the BBC?
Mr Edwards has been with the BBC for almost four decades, rising through the ranks from trainee to presenting its flagship programme.
He joined the BBC as a news trainee in 1984 before becoming the parliamentary correspondent for BBC Wales in 1986.
Between 1994 and January 2003, Mr Edwards presented the BBC Six O’Clock News, which was the most watched news programme in Britain at that time.
He has been suspended since news of the allegation emerged against him— (PA Archive)
In January 2003, he became the main presenter of the Ten O’Clock News on BBC One and has been fronting the programme for the two decades since.
Huw Edwards is the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader and is among its highest-paid presenters.
His pay bracket is £435,000 – £439,999, up from £410,000 – £414,000 last year, according to the corporation’s annual report this year, putting him fourth on the list.
Is he under a criminal investigation?
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said they had concluded their assessment and had determined that no criminal offence had been committed.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We have seen the statement from the police confirming they have completed their assessment and are not taking further action. We’re grateful to them for completing this work at speed.
“The police had previously asked us to pause our fact finding investigations and we will now move forward with that work, ensuring due process and a thorough assessment of the facts, whilst continuing to be mindful of our duty of care to all involved.”
