Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, billie piper, david tennant, doctor who, huw edwards

Doctor Who: BBC Reportedly Removes Huw Edwards Ep (UPDATE)

In light of his pleading guilty to charges of making indecent images of children, BBC removed an episode of Doctor Who featuring Huw Edwards.

UPDATE: BBC issued the following statement to TV Zone: "An episode of 'Doctor Who' has been temporarily removed from BBC iPlayer to be re-dubbed."

ORIGINAL REPORT: With the fallout of Huw Edwards having pled guilty to charges of making indecent images of children still being felt, it appears the BBC has pulled an episode of Doctor Who from its iPlayer streaming service that featured the ex-BBC News anchor. Earlier this week, during his court hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, Edwards entered a "guilty" response to all three charges – with his next court appearance set for September 16th. During the David Tennant and Billie Piper-starring second series of the long-running BBC series, Edwards's voice can be heard in the 11th episode – 2006's "Fear Her" (directed by Euros Lyn and written by Matthew Graham). Earlier rumblings were that the BBC would edit out Edwards's voice from the Doctor Who episode. Meanwhile, the BBC continues to face a number of questions and criticisms regarding how it's handled the situation – here's a look back to the official statement that was released by the media company earlier this week after Edwards pled guilty to the charges against him.

The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today. There can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour, and our thoughts are with all those affected.

The police have confirmed that the charges are not connected to the original complaint raised with the BBC in the summer of 2023, nevertheless in the interests of transparency we think it important to set out some points about events of the last year.

In November 2023, whilst Mr Edwards was suspended, the BBC, as his employer at the time, was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail whilst the police continued their investigation. At the time, no charges had been brought against Mr Edwards, and the BBC had also been made aware of significant risk to his health.

Today, we have learnt of the conclusion of the police process in the details as presented to the court. If at any point during the period Mr Edwards was employed by the BBC he had been charged, the BBC had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him. In the end, at the point of charge, he was no longer an employee of the BBC.

During this period, in the usual way, the BBC has kept its corporate management of these issues separate from its independent editorial functions.

We want to reiterate our shock at Mr Edwards' actions, and our thoughts remain with all those affected.

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