Huw Edwards sent creepy selfies to young lad while presenting Harry and Meghan’s wedding
HUW Edwards sent creepy selfies to try to buy sex pics from a young man — while presenting Harry and Meghan’s wedding on TV.
The disgraced former BBC newsreader was said to have groomed the cash-strapped fan, initially trying to impress him with pictures from the News at Ten studio before later transferring him £2,000.
The starstruck lad, then 21, then received a snap of the presenter outside Windsor Castle as Edwards fronted coverage of the 2018 Royal Wedding.
The picture was part of a year-long campaign when Edwards pestered the heterosexual lad for nude pictures — turning nasty when he did not get his way.
After seeing Edwards’ conviction for receiving images of child abuse, the fan told The Sun: “It’s disgusting.
“It was clear he was always trying to groom me and trying to use his position and money for his own perverse gratification.
“But to now know I was being targeted by a paedophile who got off on pictures of children makes me feel sick.”
PayPal records show the BBC star paid £500 a photo to the fan.
After receiving one topless picture, he complimented him, saying: “F***.
“That’s one of your best. You look so good.”
Edwards then wrote: “I want a pic of you totally naked head to toe.”
When the fan asked “What’s in it for me?”, Edwards transferred him a total of £2,000.
When the lad provided only a topless snap, Edwards launched into a WhatsApp tirade, ranting: “F*** that. F*** that.
“Really not impressed by you. I believed you were serious.
“But you’re not. You chase me for cash.
“But you then ‘forget’ to deliver. F*** that.”
Edwards first followed the lad on social media, then messaged him for his WhatsApp contact details in 2017.
He then tried to initiate picture-swapping by sending a selfie taken in a BBC studio, writing: “Your turn. Pic.”
The lad swapped messages with the star over a number of weeks before the presenter asked for intimate pictures, saying: “I will reward you.”
Edwards messaged asking if the fan was “likely to be down before Xmas”, in what was a clear attempt to meet.
And the newsreader spied the lad’s financial vulnerability when he asked for help paying for a train ticket to London.
The presenter wrote: “Then you really would owe me.”
The lad said: “Clearly by ‘owe’ he meant something sexual.”