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BBC bosses have been unable to make progress on replacing Hugh Edwards as chief news presenter because he is said to still be unfit to take part in talks about his future.
Mr Edwards was off the air for six months after being suspended in July over allegations he received inappropriate messages from a teenager and gave him money. Speculation remains about his future at the company as it prepares for a general election this year.
Edwards' wife Vicky Flind, who appointed him as presenter at the center of the scandal after the accusations were first reported in The Sun, said he would remain in hospital “for the foreseeable future” after admitting he had suffered a “serious incident”.
Edwards, who has a history of mental ill health and has previously been treated for major depression, is not yet believed to have recovered. It is unclear if he is still in the hospital, The Times reported.
The resolution of Edwards' future is receiving greater attention as the BBC prepares for a busy news year, with multiple elections around the world – as well as in the UK – and wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Journalist Hugh Edwards was previously at the helm of important political and royal events for the BBC (Chris Jackson/PA)
(Palestinian Authority Archives)
One of Edwards' longtime colleagues said the company would like to resolve the situation soon. They told The Times: “The BBC wants to end this whole unhappy situation as quickly as possible.
“Things have been going on for six months now and they still haven't been able to make any progress.”
Welsh journalist Edwards has for years been at the helm of important political and royal events for the BBC.
He announced the late queen's death on the BBC last September, covered her funeral, and presented the BBC's broadcast of the king's coronation in May.
The former Westminster correspondent presented the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the wedding of the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018, and the funeral of the then Duke of Cambridge. Edinburgh in 2021.
The BBC News At Ten presenter has also been the voice of broadcaster for Trooping the Color and the Festival of Remembrance, and took over election coverage from long-serving David Dimbleby in 2019.
The Metropolitan Police said in July that no criminal offense had occurred.
