Disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards is said to be in talks with Channel 4 about a television programme where he will share "his side of the story", to the anger of the mother of a teenager groomed by the star.
The publicly owned broadcaster is risking fresh controversy by working with the former presenter - a convicted sex offender - which one employee described as “a desperate publicity stunt”.
Edwards, 64, admitted possessing 41 indecent images of children in 2024, including seven classed as the most serious category A abuse.
Two of the images were of victims aged seven to nine years old, resulting in a six-month sentence suspended for two years.
It would be the former BBC News at Ten host’s first TV interview since he admitted to the awful offences.
The mother of a teenager who first blew the whistle on Edwards, told The Sun: “It’s absolutely disgusting Channel 4 has given a convicted paedophile a platform.
“I don’t understand what he has to say - or what his side of the story really is. Who wants to hear that? And why would they agree to it?
"Whatever he says there’s no excuse for how he behaved. Haven’t we been through enough?”
Huw Edwards received a suspended sentence in 2024 | PAChannel 4 is already under fire over allegations of rape made by contestants on its hit series Married at First Sight UK, with the platforming of Edwards adding fuel to the fire.
Edwards was suspended by the BBC in July 2023 after it was revealed he had groomed a young man on social media and paid him thousands of pounds for explicit images.
His 20 year career, and subsequent scandal, formed the subject of a Channel 5 drama earlier this year starring Martin Clunes.
Since the show aired, Edwards issued a statement and vowed to challenge what he called "false claims".
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He said at the time: “Much has been written in the past week following Channel 5’s one-sided account. Other opportunities will arise later this year for me to state my case, and to challenge the misleading or fabricated claims made in recent coverage.
“Serious questions still remain to be answered, and not just by me. It will take some time for me to produce my own account.”
He also claimed programme producers Wonderhood “made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative”.
Channel 5 insisted the programme was based on “extensive interviews with the victim and his family”, as well as court reporting.
At the time, it was reported that Edwards planned to make a documentary or podcast setting out his version of events.
Channel 4 declined to comment on plans to work with him, although it is understood Edwards has spoken to several other media organisations about the possibility of platforming his account.
A source told The Sunday Times last night that Edwards would want to discuss some of the issues raised in psychiatric assessments before his sentencing, including his medical conditions.