Huw Edwards messaged a young man asking ‘did we ever meet?’ after his arrest, the Mail can reveal.
The fallen BBC star wrote ‘my brain is a bit foggy’ and asked him to ‘jog’ his memory.
The mysterious message was sent after Edwards was detained by detectives for having child sex abuse images on his phone.
At the time, few knew police were investigating him. But behind the scenes, the £439,000-a-year BBC veteran was apparently desperately trying to remember who he had met.
The message seen by the Mail, sent on April 6 – five months after his secret arrest – read: ‘Hi. Really sorry for the intrusion. I’m just dealing with some housekeeping. My brain is a bit foggy. Did we ever meet in the distant past? I can’t remember if we did. Please jog my memory if so. Thanks.’
Huw Edwards messaged a young man asking ‘did we ever meet?’ after his arrest, the Mail can reveal
Huw Edwards leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 31, 2024
The young man he sent it to, whom the Mail is calling ‘Charlie’ to preserve his anonymity, said: ‘I had a lot of conversations with Huw. It is very odd that he can’t seem to remember.
‘This message arrived out of the blue, and it was like he had no idea what was going on. He did not seem to remember any of his actions.
‘It just seems utterly bizarre he would send something like that, saying his brain was foggy. He was clearly in such a mess that he just couldn’t remember which guy was which.
‘I find it remarkable – he was able read the news every night OK pitch perfect, yet couldn’t remember who anyone was.’
As well as Charlie, who was in his early 20s, the Mail is aware of other young men with whom married father-of-five Edwards was exchanging messages.
One of the first messages Charlie – a junior freelance BBC producer – ever received from Edwards on WhatsApp was straight to the point: ‘Hello, beauty.’
As well as ‘Charlie’, who was in his early 20s, the Mail is aware of other young men with whom married father-of-five Edwards was exchanging messages
Huw Edwards arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 31, 2024
Charlie regarded the news anchor as a respected veteran of the trade and had followed him on Instagram.
It set the scene for 16 months of messaging – exchanged by both parties – and suggestions to meet the junior colleague that Edwards called ‘babe’, though the pair never ended up meeting.
Overall there are more than 350 messages, some of which Edwards signed off with an ‘x’, and overall the tone is friendly and consensual on both sides.
