Huw Edwards: Poll reveals 53% of public want him back on BBC on one condition

On July 7 2023, The Sun released a story about an unnamed BBC presenter who had paid an underage person £35K for explicit pictures. As soon as the news came out, the Internet was ablaze and rumours about who the presenter could be started. Several BBC presenters were falsely named while the BBC remained quiet.

The BBC’s silence and the furor of social media led to a lot of speculation but it also led to many people voicing their opinions. For instance, Jeremy Vine tweeted and spoke on his show about how he encouraged the accused presenter to come forward.

In the evening of Thursday 13 July, after the police gave a statement saying that there will be no criminal charges, Huw Edwards was named as the accused presenter by his wife. In her statement, Vicky Flind, asked the public to give their family some time and disclosed that Edwards was in critical condition and has been hospitalised.

Since both the police and Vicky Flind’s statements were released, more people have expressed themselves concerning the case. A lot of questions have also been raised about Huw Edwards’ place at the BBC. Could Huw Edwards possibly return to our screens?

53% of public want Huw Edwards back on the BBC

When the scandal was unfolding and Huw Edwards was still not named as the presenter, many voiced their opinions over what the person in question should do.

Now that Huw Edwards has been confirmed as the presenter and the police have dropped their investigation, more people have come forward in support of Edwards.

The Mirror led a survey that revealed ‘53% said they want to see him back on the BBC News at Ten’ but only if the BBC bosses have cleared him. The poll also revealed that ‘only 32% felt he should not be allowed to continue.’

While the public that voted in the poll led by The Mirror seems to be willing to have him back, public opinion is not the only one being scrutinised . The idea of Huw Edwards coming back to the BBC is being commented upon by numerous journalists and even colleagues of Edwards.

For instance on GB News:

While former newspaper editor Kelvin MacKenzie seems skeptical of a return of Huw Edwards, some journalists aren’t.

Could Huw Edwards come back to the BBC?

But whether or not Huw Edwards will come back can only be resolved once the BBC has concluded its internal investigation and once Edwards is out of the hospital. Moreover, Edwards is known for having issues with depression so the question might just be: does he want to come back and is he fit to, instead of whether or not people want him back.

Read more:

⋙ Huw Edwards scandal: This is who could become the new face of BBC News

⋙ Huw Edwards: The BBC presenter deletes social media account amid new video scandal

Reporting around scandal gone 'too far'

Moreover, The Mirror reports that a lot of people outside and inside of the BBC feel like the reporting around Edwards’ scandal had gone ‘too far, too soon.’ This is also supported by a poll done by YouGov.

Finally, The Mirror reveals that current and former BBC employees have a lot of mixed feelings about how the channel reported the news. Support for Edwards has emerged from several people.

Emily Maitlis, former Newsnight presenter said:

If you know this stuff about a colleague, why isn’t your first duty to then go to HR or a senior manager, rather than turning it into a news story? You are in a weird place if the way you raise a concern about a colleague is not through HR or a complaints process, but by breaking a story about them because they’re famous.

Channel 4’s presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy:

With many people criticising the BBC's handling of the scandal and the growing support for Huw Edwards, do you think it is possible for the presenter to come back?

Sources:

The Mirror: Huw Edwards' TV pals demand his return to BBC News - and public want him back on screen

Sky News: Huw Edwards named by his wife as BBC presenter accused of paying teen for explicit pictures

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