Huw Edwards has resigned from the BBC. He said he had done so based on medical advice following the sexting scandal he was involved in. In a statement, the BBC said:
Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC. After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors. The BBC has accepted his resignation which it believes will allow all parties to move forward. We don’t believe it appropriate to comment further.
That statement rather suggests that the BBC think they are never going to have to talk about the whole sorry saga again. That seems rather unlikely to me. However, they have been spared the indignity of a disciplinary process or an employment tribunal. Either of those would have been terrible for all involved. BBC media editor Katie Razall reported that no settlement has been paid.
Huw Edwards Goes as Rival Announces Plans
Today’s development also means that the BBC can begin to formalise its plans for major upcoming events, not least the UK General Election. Edwards typically led coverage of such occasions.
Yesterday, Channel 4 ramped up the pressure and announced its election night plans. Emily Maitlis is set to join Krishnan Guru-Murthy anchoring. Cathy Newman will be at the HQ of the major parties. Clare Balding will provide data analysis. My favourite bit is that the Gogglebox families are going to be giving their reactions!
The Huw Edwards era has come to an end, but it will take a long time for everyone to fully move on.
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Watching the Gogglebox families’ semi-staged reactions to regular TV shows is distressing enough, I hate to think how bad their reactions to anything of national importance is going to be.