BBC is planning to replace Huw Edwards for election night coverage – as hunt for new presenter launched
THE BBC is considering whether to replace Huw Edwards from its election night coverage, according to reports.
The newsreader has been suspended over allegations he paid thousands to a teen who sent him sexual images.
BBC chiefs are now debating if they should replace the presenter ahead of next year’s General Election, Deadline reports.
There is a suggestion Rishi Sunak could call an early vote – meaning a replacement would need to be lined up sooner rather than later.
Huw signed a deal with the BBC earlier this year that would have guaranteed him a spot at the helm of the broadcaster’s coverage.
He previously presented the 2019 election coverage but bosses fear bringing him back could cause too much backlash – especially after allegations were made about his conduct with junior reporters.
One senior BBC journalist said. “If the public and the audience have question marks about somebody, it makes it very hard for them to re-establish themselves in that role.”
The broadcaster is now reportedly “struggling” to work out who could fill Huw’s seat – with Laura Kuenssberg seen as a leading contender.
She presents the BBC’s flagship politics show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and was political editor at the corporation.
Other potential replacements reportedly include Radio 4 Today host Nick Robinson and presenter Jeremy Vine.
There is also suggestion Clive Myrie could host, as well as political juggernaut David Dimbleby.
He hosted every election night for the BBC from 1979 to 2019, but recently told The News Agents podcast: “Don’t tempt me even to think of the question being asked or of answering it.
“It’s completely out of the question. The BBC’s got to find somebody new.”
The corporation has launched an investigation into the allegations made against Huw, which were first revealed by The Sun.
Our original story revealed an apparent failure to investigate claims that a BBC star paid thousands to a troubled teen who sent him sexual images.
This was the first of five public allegations the 62-year-old was faced with.
On the night Edwards was named by his wife Vicky Flind as the suspended star, the BBC revealed he faced more allegations of inappropriate behaviour — this time towards his junior TV colleagues.
The Sun also revealed how bosses probing the newsreader took more than four weeks to respond to a new serious complaint.
They only replied to the whistleblower, a recent ex-Beeb employee, the day after we contacted them about it.