| Huw Edwards | |
|---|---|
Edwards during an outside broadcast for BBC News in June 2006. |
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| Born | Huw Edwards 18 August 1961 Bridgend, Glamorgan |
| Education | Cardiff University, BA French |
| Occupation | Journalist, Presenter, Newsreader |
| Children | 5 |
| Ethnicity | Welsh |
| Nationality | British |
| Notable credit(s) | Olympic Games BBC News at Ten BBC News Channel BBC News at Six The Royal Wedding 2011 |
Huw Edwards (born 18 August 1961) is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.
He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast. He also presents an hour-long slot from 5:00pm on the BBC News channel.
He began his career at radio station, Swansea Sound, from where he joined the BBC in 1984.
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Edwards was born in Bridgend, Wales, and, from the age of four, was brought up in Llangennech, near Llanelli. He went to Llanelli Boys' Grammar School, as did Michael Howard. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in French from University College, Cardiff in 1983. His father was the noted Welsh author and academic Hywel Teifi Edwards, who was Research Professor of Literature of Wales (Welsh language) at the University College, Swansea. His mother, Aerona Protheroe, taught at Llanelli's Ysgol Gyfun y Strade for 30 years. After his first degree, he started postgraduate work at Cardiff University in Medieval French, but moved to the BBC.
He joined the BBC as a News Trainee in 1984, and in 1986 became Parliamentary Correspondent for BBC Wales.
Between May 1999 and January 2003, Edwards presented the BBC Six O'Clock News. During this period, the Six O'Clock News was the most watched news programme in Britain.
In January 2003, he became the main presenter of the Ten O'Clock News on BBC One. The Ten is considered the corporation's flagship news broadcast. BBC News at Ten has since gone on to become the most watched news programme in Britain. Along with David Dimbleby, he also presents various special programmes such as the Festival of Remembrance, Trooping the Colour and the State Opening of Parliament. He led the BBC commentary team at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. He has presented several election specials, including coverage of the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007 for BBC Wales, and also the BBC coverage of the United States elections, 2008 results and the inauguration of Barack Obama. He was formerly Chief Political Correspondent for BBC News, and spent more than 14 years reporting politics from Westminster across a range of BBC programmes.
He has also presented or contributed to a range of other BBC News programmes, including Breakfast News, One O'Clock News, Newsnight and Panorama. Since April 2006, Edwards has presented the newly established BBC News at Five O'Clock on the 24-hour BBC News channel. On 29 April 2011 he presented the BBC coverage of the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The coverage was watched by 20 million viewers at peak in the United Kingdom, making it one of the most watched programmes in British television history.[1]
Although predominantly a news journalist, Edwards has presented a wide range of programming on television and radio, including documentaries on classical music, religion, and the Welsh language, of which he is a native speaker. He has a particular interest in history and has presented documentaries on many historical subjects, including Owain Glyn Dwr, the south Wales Valleys, Gladstone and Disraeli, and a series following the work of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
He has also appeared as himself in cameo in the television series Absolute Power, and in an episode of Doctor Who, where he fronted coverage of a fictionalised 2012 Olympics.
In March 2011, he also made an appearance to open Swansea University's "Hoffi Coffi" cafe in the library, which has been created to support the aims of Academi Hywel Teifi, after Huw's father spent his academic career at the university. He gave a speech in Welsh as he unveiled a wall mural of a poem by Tudur Hallam, Professor of Welsh at the university and chair of last year's Eisteddfod. Mr Edwards said it was a moving tribute to his father.[2] In 2003, he was made a Fellow of the University of Wales and, in 2007, he became Honorary Professor of Journalism at Cardiff University.[3] In April 2009, he was elected Vice-President of Cardiff University. In 2005, he was appointed Patron of the National College of Music. In October 2008, he accepted appointment as President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the London Welsh Centre.[4]
He is married with five children and lives in Dulwich, London.[5]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anna Ford |
Main Presenter of BBC News at Six (BBC One) 1999 – 2003 |
Succeeded by George Alagiah & Sophie Raworth |
| Preceded by Peter Sissons |
Main Presenter of BBC News at Ten (BBC One) 2003 – present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by None |
Main Presenter of BBC News at Five (BBC News Channel) 2006 – present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |