EXCLUSIVE: Huw Edwards will preserve maintain of awards trophies for his protection of main royal occasions, together with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, after pleading responsible to accessing baby abuse photographs.
BAFTA, the Royal Television Society (RTS), and the Tv and Radio Industries Membership (TRIC) have dominated out stripping Edwards of prizes for anchoring BBC broadcasts of main nationwide moments.
The three organizations mentioned the awards acknowledged the efforts of manufacturing groups, fairly than merely celebrating Edwards’ presenting abilities.
Though the group awards will stay in place, BAFTA is reviewing seven particular person prizes handed to Edwards, a proud Welshman, by the BAFTA Cymru Awards.
“Like everybody within the business and nation we had been shocked by the information – given the seriousness of this abhorrent crime, we’re reviewing,” a spokesperson mentioned.
Edwards will preserve maintain of different BAFTA awards together with the 2012 gong for Sport & Dwell Occasion, which was introduced to the BBC for its protection of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding ceremony in 2011.
Equally, the RTS mentioned the BBC’s Dwell Occasion award for The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II will stay in place.
“Our Dwell Occasion class for the RTS Programme Awards is introduced to a programme as a complete and the group behind it. We’re due to this fact not reviewing or rescinding this award from 2023,” a spokesperson mentioned. Edwards has not gained a person RTS prize.
A TRIC spokesperson added: “The BBC Occasions group gained the TRIC Award for Dwell Occasion protection of The State Funeral HM Queen Elizabeth II [in 2023]. On the day Huw Edwards spoke on behalf of the group to simply accept the award.”
Edwards’ attendance on the TRIC Awards final yr was his remaining public look till final week, when he appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Courtroom to plead responsible to indecent baby picture prices.
The court docket heard that Edwards obtained photographs on WhatsApp of kids aged 13 to fifteen, in addition to “shifting photographs” of a younger baby, presumably aged between seven and 9.
The presenter, who has labored on the BBC for many years and was on the peak of his powers till final yr, can be sentenced subsequent month.
The BBC has began to take away Edwards from library content material, including an episode of Doctor Who, however seems prepared to face by archive footage of the newsreader throughout main nationwide moments.
For instance, movies of the presenter asserting the demise of Queen Elizabeth stay on BBC Information’ YouTube channel and web site.
There’s a feeling inside the BBC newsroom that these are issues of historic report and it could possibly be a disservice to viewers to wash them from the archives.
