BBC to retain Bafta for royal coverage fronted by Huw Edwards

The BBC will retain the Bafta it won for royal coverage fronted by Huw Edwards, but individual gongs awarded to the disgraced newsreader remain under review, it is understood.

The Academy is reviewing seven individual presenter prizes handed to Edwards by the Bafta Cymru Awards between 2002 to 2017.

A Bafta spokesperson said: “Like everyone in the industry and country we were shocked by the news – given the seriousness of this abhorrent crime, we are reviewing.”

The Bafta won by the BBC in 2012 for Edwards’ coverage of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, will remain.

The state funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II also won two Baftas for sound: factual and in the director: multi-camera category last year.

The coverage featured commentary from presenters including Edwards as well as David Dimbleby – who came out of retirement for the event.

Edwards has won the best on-screen presenter prize at the Bafta Cymru awards numerous times over the years, the first being in 2002 for his Election Exchange show and he retained the prize the following year for The Exchange.

He also won it in 2004 for his programme The Story Of Welsh, in 2005 for his docuseries Bread Of Heaven and in 2010 for The Prince And The Plotter.

Later in 2013, he picked up the best prize prize of his The Story Of Wales programme and he took home the same gong in 2017 for Aberfan – The Fight For Justice.

The Bafta Cymru presenter awards are peer voted for, while the honorary special awards are gifted by the Bafta board of trustees – Edwards has not received a special award in his career.

The veteran broadcaster admitted having indecent images of children last week, with seven of the 41 images being of the most serious type.

BBC director general Tim Davie later defended his decision to employ Edwards until April, five months after he was told of Edwards’ arrest in November over the most serious category of indecent images of children.

Edwards resigned from the BBC in April “on the basis of medical advice from his doctors” after unrelated allegations that he paid a young person for sexually explicit photos.

Police found no evidence of criminal behaviour in the matter.

Edwards will next appear in court on September 16.