BBC Huw Edwards' marriage with wife Vicky Flind - 'decision to split', kids and religion

Huw Edwards, the former BBC News presenter, has reportedly moved out of his marital home following a split from his wife Vicky Flind. The 62 year old Welsh journalist is set to return to court today to face sentencing after pleading guilty to a number of child sex offence charges.

The disgraced newsreader entered guilty pleas to all charges against him at Westminster Magistrates' Court on July 31, after being charged with three counts of making indecent images of children. He was arrested in November 2023 and officially resigned from the BBC in April 2024.

The offences, alleged to have occurred between December 2020 and April 2022, pertain to images shared on a WhatsApp chat. Edwards stands accused of possessing six category A images, 12 category B images and 19 category C images.

If convicted, he could face a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

Edwards, best known for presenting the Six O'Clock News and as a key reporter at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, also announced Queen Elizabeth's death in 2022 and led the BBC's coverage of her funeral, reports the Mirror.

It is now reported that Edwards has left his family home in Dulwich, south London, after allegedly separating from his wife Vicky, 62. He is believed to have relocated to another property in the capital and has been dividing his time between there and his native Wales.

The former couple, who share five adult children - three sons and two daughters, have reportedly not yet divorced. A source revealed to the press: "They separated quite a long time ago but have not announced it publicly. Huw has been living elsewhere for a while."

Television professional Vicky, previously at the helm of the BBC's This Week, transitioned to ITV's flagship political programme Peston and has credits on Britain's Next Prime Minister.

Reportedly first crossing paths in Westminster where Huw was a BBC correspondent, the couple got engaged back in 1993. It was indeed Vicky who brought attention to Huw as the individual embroiled in allegations last year through a statement concerning his health, citing "serious mental health issues" while also mentioning a desire to shield their children.

Commenting on his family life, Edwards once opened up to The Guardian about his evolution as a father, remarking: "There's a principle that your youngest child gets a far better crack of the whip than your eldest."

Elaborating on this notion, he shared: "All your anxieties and inexperience and cluelessness as a parent are taken out on your eldest child. By the time you get to your youngest, in my case number five, you're a brilliant parent. So if you could give a parent all the patience and knowledge that they would have with their second or third child or whatever to the first, that's the one piece of advice I'd give."

Despite his wife not being a Welsh speaker, he was passionate about teaching his children the language. He previously told Wales Online: "I was able to concentrate a lot of time on my eldest two children who have got a good level of understanding in Welsh but the others less so. Three of my sons are linguists actually and I've got a daughter who is a linguist."

"Their facility to speak, pronounce and understand, it's quite good but what you won't get is a fluent conversation... They talk frequently to my mum who is back in Llanelli and they are very aware of the heritage of my dad and the fact he was such a big figure in Welsh language culture and are very proud of that."

Edwards' father, a prominent Welsh nationalist and historian, passed away in 2010. Speaking about their relationship in an S4C documentary, Edwards said: "We weren't that close, to be honest - not like me and mam, because dad wasn't that present when I was growing up. He could be quite sharp."

"I laugh when people tell me that Dad was full of humour and that he always had a smile on his face. I often think - what, do you live on the same planet as me? Yes, he could be very witty and he could laugh. He could be very sharp-tongued at times and if you were on the receiving end of that, it wasn't very fun."

Huw Edwards' steadfast Christian faith has seen him regularly attending church services. The devout Christian once served as Vice President of the National Churches Trust, where he highlighted to Sorted Magazine the crucial societal impact of churches.

He remarked that they "have a vital role to play in moments of national importance; bringing people together, providing quiet spaces for reflection and prayer, and places for communities to gather and share".

However, a shocking update came following his guikty pleas, as Edwards was abruptly removed from his position at the trust. The charity, dedicated to the conservation of UK's ecclesiastical buildings, expressed its distress stating: "In light of the news yesterday, the National Churches Trust has confirmed that Huw Edwards is no longer a Vice President for the charity. We are shocked and saddened by the recent developments."