BBC Pulls ‘Doctor Who’ Episode After Shocking Huw Edwards Case
Huw Edwards was one of the BBC’s biggest news presenters. He was the man who announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who provided commentary for the coronation of King Charles, and who was often called upon to make cameos as himself in big British productions.
Content warning: Child abuse
That was what Edwards was once best known for, but all of that is tainted now, because in July 2024 he pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. Reportedly, six of these were “category A” images, which means they include penetrative sexual activity. It was an absolutely shocking and revolting case.
Needless to say, this has been extremely chaotic for the BBC, who themselves face questions about how much they knew and when. So unsurprisingly, they’re pulling everything on their streaming service that featured Edwards in any capacity.
This means that one episode of the 2006 series of Doctor Who, “Fear Her” has gone. Huw Edwards appeared briefly in that episode as himself, commentating on the extraordinary events that take place. The episode was set at the 2012 Olympics—a future event at the time the episode aired—but they are disrupted by a little girl who has the power to make things disappear if she draws them. When she draws the crowds at the Olympics, they all disappear. Edwards can be heard saying, “My God, what’s going on here? The crowd has just vanished, right in front of my eyes.” It’s not exactly a winning performance—Edwards frankly comes across as rather wooden.
Later on, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor picks up the Olympic torch and runs with it, and Edwards commentates on that too. He says of the torch, “It’s more than heat and light, it’s hope and it’s courage and it’s love.” (Such was the success of Doctor Who season two that, prior to 2012, some fans floated the idea of David Tennant carrying the real Olympic torch.)
So Edwards doesn’t have a big part in the episode—he’s just there for flavor and BBC synergy really—but especially considering Doctor Who is a family show and Edwards’ crimes were specifically against children, it’s not at all surprising that the BBC would pull the episode. The question is, is it gone forever or will it come back with edits? (We assume and hope it will never appear again in its original form.)
The Mirror thinks that the latter thing will most likely happen. A source told the outlet, “It’s going to be hard for the BBC to airbrush Huw out of news events he covered, but the Doctor Who episode should be straightforward.” Apparently, the corporation is looking to re-dub Edwards’ voice with that of another actor.
The real victims here are the children Edwards exploited and the entire ordeal serves as a sad reminder of the shockwaves that echo through an industry when a man held up as one of its biggest stars turns out to be an abuser.
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