BBC Removes Doctor Who Episode Featuring Huw Edwards from iPlayer

The BBC has removed a Doctor Who episode featuring disgraced presenter Huw Edwards from its streaming platform iPlayer.

The 62-year-old former highest-paid newsreader at the broadcaster, pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of children on Wednesday. He was sent 41 illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams, with seven being of the most serious type.

Edwards made a cameo appearance as himself in a 2006 episode of the popular sci-fi series titled “Fear Her.” This episode was part of David Tennant’s debut series as the tenth Doctor, alongside Billie Piper as his companion, Rose Tyler.

In this episode, the Doctor and Rose travel to the future to the London 2012 Olympics. However, before they can enjoy the games, they are pulled into a mission to save billions of lives. They discover that a little girl, Chloe Webber, is unwittingly making people disappear by drawing them, while her mother tries to conceal her daughter’s supernatural abilities.

In one of the scenes, a televised BBC news report can be seen playing on a laptop in Chloe’s bedroom, with Edwards’ voice providing commentary on the Olympic torch ceremony.

Suddenly, everyone in the stadium disappears because Chloe has drawn them while watching from home.

Edwards can be heard saying, “My God, what’s going on here? The crowd has just vanished, right in front of my eyes. It’s impossible. Bob, can we go to you in the box? Bob? Not you too?”

As the Doctor intervenes to save the day, Tennant’s character is seen on TV carrying the Olympic torch. Edwards comments in the running commentary, “Nobody has any idea who he is.”

When the Doctor succeeds in making everyone reappear, Edwards adds, “They’ve reappeared! It’s quite incredible. And a mystery man, we’ve no idea who he is, has picked up the flame. It’s more than heat and light, it’s hope and it’s courage and it’s love.”

The episode received widespread acclaim when it first aired in 2006, but the BBC appears to have removed it from their streaming platform following Edwards’ guilty plea. At the time of writing, a preview of the episode is still available on the site, though the full episode is listed as “no longer available.”

The BBC spokesperson said, “The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour and our thoughts are with all those affected.”

“The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023,” the statement continued. “Nevertheless, in the interests of transparency, we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.”

Following his guilty plea, the BBC disclosed that they had been informed confidentially in November about Edwards’ arrest on suspicion of serious offenses. He was released on bail while police investigations continued.

“At the time, no charges had been brought against Edwards, and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health,” the broadcaster stated.

Edwards resigned in April, citing medical advice from his doctors, after unrelated allegations that he had paid a young person for sexually explicit photos surfaced.

Edwards had been a long-standing figure in coverage of major political and royal events, including announcing the Queen’s death on the BBC and presenting coverage of her funeral. He also anchored the BBC’s broadcast of the King’s coronation last year.

Last year, despite being suspended for most of the year, Edwards received a £40,000 increase to his six-figure salary. According to the corporation’s annual report released this week, he earned between £475,000-£479,999, up from £435,000-£439,999 in the previous report.

In response to numerous questions from reporters at a media briefing, the BBC’s director general Tim Davie defended the increase in Edwards’ salary. Davie noted it was part of the corporation’s pay progression and stated that the organization was acting “proportionally.”

Source: BBC, The Independent