Diving into Huw's Disturbing Texts Was Like Entering the Heart of Darkness—That's When I Knew a Drama Had to Be Born, Says Creator

THE creator of the new Huw Edwards drama says that reading his texts to a teenager he was paying for sexual images was like “going into the heart of darkness”.

At the first public screening of Power: The Downfall Of , executive producer Sam Anstiss added it was at that moment she knew the programme had to be made.

Disgraced Edwards reading the news on flagship BBC showCredit: Getty Martin Clunes plays disgraced Huw Edwards in the Channel 5 dramaCredit: © 5 Broadcasting Limited / Paramount / ©Wonderhood Studios / Photographer: Matt Towers.. A Met Police mugshot of Edwards from September 2024Credit: AFP

The drama, which airs on Tuesday, features as the disgraced BBC News at Ten anchor and draws extensively on The Sun’s

It features the newspaper’s Editor-in-chief Victoria Newton, news editor Ben O’Driscoll and investigative reporter .

Sam said: “These text messages, I must admit, when I first saw them I felt like I was going into the heart of darkness.

“Because here in these messages was, in the most visceral, disturbing way, a very imbalanced relationship of power and, in an unflinching way, we had to tell the story behind those messages.

“They were so disturbing. It was, ‘I love you, but you kill me’, and they were the starting point, really, along with our relationship with The Sun.”

Once her team at production company Wonderhood Studios were able to gain the trust of the newspaper, they were handed a wealth of information, including the , who is known in the drama as Ryan Davies.

Sam came into the newspaper’s offices to meet Victoria, played in the show by Clare Calbraith, which spurred her on even more to take up the challenge of turning the story into a drama.

Sam said she wanted to explore the lies of “the man who brought the truth into our front rooms, sometimes every night”.

after The Sun revealed how he had paid the teenager £35,000 for the images.

Osian Morgan as victim RyanCredit: 5 Broadcasting Limited / Wonderhood Studios Clare Calbraith plays Sun Editor Victoria Newton

We later revealed the full shocking extent of his behaviour, which culminated in his conviction for possessing child porn.

Sam said: “When I walked in to see The Sun, Victoria Newton said to me, in such a compelling way, ‘There are other victims’.

“I said, ‘Who?’, and she said, ‘Well, what about that child being abused for someone else’s sexual gratification?’.

“And that really held me and held my motivation to tell the story. Because it has been challenging to tell it. You do have to get out of bed in the morning and think, ‘Why am I doing this?’.

“Child pornography is not a victimless .

“People have talked about the timing of this drama and I’d say the timing really is right, almost because the victim says it’s right — he is ready to tell his story.

“There are other urgent themes in this drama around online safety, child pornography and the leniency of the sentencing. Lots of people wrote in to say how they were shocked by the suspended sentence.”

In July 2024, The Sun exclusively revealed that of making indecent images of children, including of a child as young as seven.

and received a six-month suspended jail sentence in September 2024.

For years previously The Sun had received reports of Edwards’ “creepy” online behaviour with young men on .

Chanel Cresswell plays Sun reporter Scarlet Howes Ben Bishop plays Sun News Editor Ben O’Driscoll

Then in the summer of 2023, we received a call from a concerned man claiming the newsreader had been sending money to his teenage stepson — played in the drama by upcoming star Osian Morgan — in exchange for sexual images.

The family had complained to the BBC, but were offered no assistance.

Through the tireless work of Scarlet, played by Chanel Cresswell, The Sun gave the family a voice.

It is their testimony that forms the core of the drama.

Sam said: “They were able to give us and share with us — after trusting us — affidavits and incredible first-hand primary source materials. Some of those included the interviews with family members, court transcripts where you saw the psychological reports from Huw Edward and the text messages.”

Our first story on the scandal was published in July 2023, when we kept all parties anonymous, describing Edwards simply as a “BBC star” and not even revealing the teen’s gender.

Edwards denied the story but was

Within days, and amid feverish speculation, he was named by his wife as the star accused of paying thousands to a vulnerable young man.

He stood down from the BBC in April 2024.

At the premiere this week, Channel 5 boss Ben Frow said they could not have made the show without having “tapped into the brilliant journalism of The Sun who wrote the story originally”.

• Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards airs on Tuesday at 9pm on Channel 5.