At the close of this summer, former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards will come to the end of his suspended prison sentence.He was given six months, suspended for two years in September 2024 after admitting accessing indecent images of children sent to him by a convicted sex offender via WhatsApp.But now, having completed 25 days of rehabilitation and a 40-day sex offender treatment programme, the threat of an immediate jail term no longer hangs over his head.His was a downfall like no other. Edwards, 64, went from being the most trusted, respected and – with a salary in the bracket of £550,000-£599,999 – the best-paid face of the corporation, to a detested pariah whose own wife and five children have apparently disowned him.He’s served his time in his native Wales, withdrawing from public life and retreating to a small bungalow in the grounds of his mother, Aerona’s, house in Llangennech, Carmarthenshire, around half an hour’s drive from Llanelli, and has been acting as her carer.Hundreds of letters – some possibly from well-wishers, some surely hate-mail – have reached him there, although he hasn’t opened a single one.He still doesn’t feel strong enough, I’m told.But, as the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal, there are signs this week that the old Huw – imperious, determined and very, very angry – is ready to rise from the ashes of his disgrace and come out fighting. Huw Edwards had a downfall like no other – he went from being the most trusted face of the BBC to a detested pariah whose own wife and five children have apparently disowned him The former newsreader was apparently incensed by the broadcasting of the Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards (pictured: Martin Clunes as Edwards in the show)Last weekend, a newspaper report suggested that Edwards was in negotiations to do a ‘tell-all’ interview with Channel 4.Far from apologetic, it was said that the planned film would claim that mental illness had played a crucial role in the presenter’s behaviour and that he was very much a victim in the whole saga.The backlash was immediate. Critics were furious that a publicly owned broadcaster would consider platforming a convicted sex offender, while staff at Channel 4 were also said to be in revolt.However I can reveal that Edwards’ plans are more advanced, complex and ambitious than that report suggests. Along with the TV interview, he’s writing a book and negotiating with multiple potential broadcasters in the UK and the US about possible documentaries and interviews.‘I need to get my story out there,’ Edwards tells friends.If all goes to plan, he will be on air in some shape or form before the end of the year.So why now? I’m told he was incensed by the broadcasting of what he calls the ‘appalling’ and ‘one-sided’ Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards in March this year, in which he was played by Martin Clunes.He also takes issue with the facts as presented by The Sun newspaper, which broke the original story in July 2023, under the headline: ‘SEX PICS PROBE: Top BBC star taken off air after “paying teenager for sexual pictures”.’He told a friend: ‘My conviction doesn’t mean that Channel 5 and The Sun can get away with saying anything they like. The Sun alleged I had been engaging with a minor – that is completely untrue.’He added: ‘The guy was 19 when he contacted me. I have his birth certificate and can prove it. Channel 5 repeated that lie.‘I am deeply ashamed of my engagement with him – but he was a consenting adult. And he initiated the contact, not me. It soon turned to blackmail.’The show dramatised the events leading up to his arrest and conviction, and showed Edwards apparently preying on a vulnerable teenager named ‘Ryan’.In the drama, ‘Ryan’ was 17 years old and received cash and gifts for stripping while Edwards masturbated. He was also paid for sending Edwards nude images.On screen, the newsreader, who announced Queen Elizabeth’s death to the nation in September 2022, was portrayed by Clunes as a deeply manipulative figure.For those who might need reminding, the Huw Edwards debacle scandalised Britain in 2023 after The Sun newspaper revealed that an unnamed BBC star had paid a young person £35,000 in exchange for sexual images.The family of the young person, who was later revealed to be male, had apparently asked the broadcaster to stop contact with him, explaining he had a drug problem. Soon afterwards, Edwards’ then-wife, TV producer Vicky Flind, revealed that the star in question was her husband. In a statement, she said: ‘Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues.‘As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years. The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future.’ Edwards served his time in his native Wales, withdrawing from public life and retreating to a small bungalow The Channel 5 show dramatised the events leading up to Edwards’ arrest and conviction, and showed him apparently preying on a vulnerable teenager named ‘Ryan’At this distance, and having recovered at least to an extent from his mental health crisis, Edwards feels strong enough to set the record straight. He is particularly frustrated that a statement which he made in response to the Channel 5 drama was ‘censored’ by the mainstream media who did not run it in full.In it, he said: ‘Much has been written in the past week following Channel 5’s one-sided account.‘Other opportunities will arise later this year for me to state my case, and to challenge the misleading or fabricated claims made in recent coverage.‘Serious questions still remain to be answered, and not just by me. It will take some time for me to produce my own account.’He complained that Wonderhood, the producers of the Channel 5 dramatisation, ‘made no attempt to check with me the truth of any aspect of their narrative’.Now he has told friends that he was actually the victim of blackmail by the young man. He also accuses ‘Ryan’ of threatening Edwards’ children as the scandal played out.Meanwhile, privately, Edwards calls ‘Ryan’ a ‘lowlife who now plays the innocent victim’.It is his belief that the young man has made ‘a lot of money’ out of the scandal, as – Edwards tells friends – has his mother. He told a friend: ‘She was so deeply concerned about her son that she went to The Sun, not the police. It stinks.’ 'Edwards has had approaches from TV companies, publishers and podcasters'Far from sinking under the weight of shame, then, it seems that Edwards feels hard done by, at least where ‘Ryan’ is concerned.As for the disgusting pornography which he was sent, opened, and convicted over, Edwards again has an answer – of sorts.Seven of the 41 images were judged as Category A, the most serious. Exchanges in court showed Edwards reacting to the vile sex abuse videos he received by describing them as ‘amazing’ and replied ‘go on’ when offered pictures and videos of a boy aged around eight.Edwards admitted three charges of making indecent images of children.He offers no excuses for this criminal behaviour, but told friends: ‘It would never have happened had I not been having a total breakdown after 25 years of psychiatric treatment.’ Edwards, the court heard, was sent indecent images by a convicted sex offender called Alex Williams from, at the very least, December 2020.The 25-year-old, also from Wales, pleaded guilty to seven offences related to the possession and distribution of illegal images.The online relationship between the two men had, in fact, begun two years before that and was of a sexual nature. According to evidence heard in court, it coincided with a period when Edwards was struggling with both his mental health and sexual identity.The bulk of the 377 images sent by Williams were legal pornography featuring young adult men, but 41 of them depicted children.Edwards would have been aware of what he was being sent, because he discussed it with Williams.Of course, Edwards’ family have also paid a heavy price for his disgrace. He split from his wife and moved out of their shared home in Dulwich, south London, in 2024. She filed for divorce soon after.So what’s next? Edwards has had approaches from TV companies, publishers, podcasters and more in both the UK and in the US. He’s weighing them up and deciding on the final ‘mix’ which he will choose. He thinks that a UK outlet should come first. I’m told that he expects to be ‘torched’ by the media, but nevertheless wants to press ahead.Some wonder if the audience he really has in mind are Ms Flind, his estranged wife, and their five adult children. The family’s impressive home in Dulwich was put up for sale in the wake of the scandal, and Ms Flind and the children have moved on and moved away. It’s thought that the pair are now divorced, but this has never been confirmed.Nor has there been any comment from either Edwards or Ms Flind on anything to do with the family, but I’m told there is an overwhelming feeling of sadness over how their family life has imploded, too.Any show featuring Edwards will, of course, be of interest to senior executives at the BBC – including its chairman Samir Shah – who have asked the presenter to repay them the £200,000 of licence fee payers’ money he received in wages while suspended from his post after his arrest. Edwards is also, it should be noted, receiving a very handsome BBC pension after his long service with the corporation.One important caveat according to those close to Edwards, is that he will not be paid for any TV or book deal he secures. He understands that he is already the focus of great ire after pocketing money from the BBC, and not repaying it, despite being asked.He tells friends that he has a lot to say about the money, and the fuss over it, but everyone will have to wait to hear what that is.As his plans take shape, Edwards has been spotted out occasionally with his mother, walking on the beach, drinking tea at a local café and on his 64th birthday even buying two miniature bottles of prosecco at a nearby garage.Does he have something to celebrate? Again, time will tell.But in the circumstances, who will honestly be able to stomach hearing what he has to say?