SHAMED Huw Edwards wooed a young man by sending pictures of himself posing  with celebrities including Dame Mary Berry and Sir Tom Jones.

The man — then 23 — said it felt like Edwards, 62, was boasting of his BBC and showbiz connections to impress him.

4

Disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards sent a picture with Bake Off star Mary Berry to a young manCredit: INSTAGRAM/HUWBBC

4

The young man says Edwards sent him a snap with singer Tom Jones in an effort to impress himCredit: Collect
The pair had met in 2020 via a dating site before Edwards asked him to “move to WhatsApp” to chat privately.

He then sent a flurry of star selfies and provocative messages.

The latest revelations came as it also emerged:

 AN ex-BBC chairwoman publicly thanked shamed Edwards despite knowing he had been arrested

A BEEB news chief was informed of the decision to charge him even though stars had insisted on air that the department knew nothing.

In his WhatsApp messages to the man, newsreader Edwards sent a snap of himself with telly cook Mary on set at a Christmas Great British Bake Off special, boasting: “How bout me and Mary B.”

The man, who we are not identifying, replied: “Looking good.”

Edwards then said: “Well that’s good. Think I’m too old?”

On another occasion, Edwards sent a snap of him with singer Sir Tom and wrote: “Thought you’d like this of me with Tom.”

The young man replied: “Hehe that’s a great pic. You’re lucky to meet Mary Berry and Tom Jones.”

Edwards wrote back: “He’s not bad for 108 or whatever he is.”

The presenter also sent selfies from the BBC studios in work time, a snap of his desk, and even sent a professional picture of himself, saying: “Had some new portraits done.”

The messages were sent between December 2020 and February 2021.

4

The young man, who we are not identifying, says Edwards messages to him felt creepyCredit: Getty
During the same period, the former News at Ten anchor was receiving indecent images and videos of children as young as seven.

The man said: “He was always talking about his career and people he knew.

“The whole thing was creepy. It was as if he thought I should respect him because of his job.

“But then he would always make it s3xual straight after and he asked me for pictures of myself.

“At times he would just deposit money into my PayPal. It felt like he was trying to get me to send explicit images by doing these things, like I had to because he was this big TV star and if I did there would be a reward.”

The young man complained to the BBC as part of its probe into Edwards after The Sun’s story broke in July last year.

He was interviewed but said yesterday: “Nobody ever got back to me.”

He said Edwards pressured him for a meeting, even though England was in a strict Covid lockdown three-tier system, which advised against travel to other areas.

The man went on: “He was always asking to meet and I found it quite pressurising.

“There were restrictions and they kept getting stricter but he constantly asked.

“I fobbed him off but he became so persistent I finally gave in.

“I was quite shocked that he broke the rules to come and meet me because of who he is.

“He showed one side in public and another in private it seemed.

“He had tried to use his power to get me to do what he wanted. I feel like it was all part of a sick game.”

4

BBC chiefs have been heavily criticised over their handling of the Huw Edwards scandal
The BBC continued to pay Edwards’ £480,000 licence-fee funded salary following his arrest last November until he quit without a pay-off in April.

Despite knowing cops had hauled him in, ex-BBC chairwoman Dame Elan Closs Stephens last month branded him “poor Huw” and called his downfall a “sad story”.

In a radio interview on July 2, she also accused this newspaper of “making the most of it” because Edwards was so well-known.

Dame Elan, who confirmed she knew of the arrest, added: “The first thing of course was ensuring Huw was alright and that the family received care and protection.”

SALARY ROW

She also told Welsh broadcaster S4C the exact details of Edwards’ offending came as a shock to her and she was “horrified by it all”.

But she was criticised for her comments with former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith calling them “at best, clumsy and ill-advised”.

And ex-Tory minister Alec Shelbrooke accused her and the BBC of “protecting their stars”, adding: “She should directly apologise for what she said. She’s made a massive error of judgement.”

Amid clamour for Edwards to return some of his pay, questions have also been raised about how much the BBC knew when it was told about his arrest last November.

Insiders yesterday said that the corporation may have misled viewers by claiming no one in its news department was aware.

Bosses had star presenters Clive Myrie and Sophie Raworth insist live on air that the BBC’s news arm was independent from its corporate teams while reporting on itself.

But it has emerged BBC News CEO Deborah Turness had been informed of the arrest in her role as Edwards’ line manager.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie insisted the exec stepped back from editorial work on the story and had no input on how it was reported.

One BBC reporter said claims that the news department was unaware was a “reputationally a grey area”.

They added: “If you have presenters going on air saying no one in news knew but Deborah did, then strictly speaking that’s not true.”

Last night, the Sunday Times reported that  only four BBC board members were initially aware of Edwards’ arrest — Davie, Turness, Dame Elan and senior independent director, Sir Nicholas Serota.

It also said the BBC is paying for therapy for a vulnerable woman who made two complaints about Edwards in May 2021 and January 2022.

The Beeb is said to have warned the presenter about his conduct.

The BBC declined to comment.