Jeremy Vine reveals what BBC stars 'really thought of Huw Edwards' in bombshell claim

Huw Edwards has barely left the headlines since pleading guilty to three counts of receiving child abuse images. Jeremy Vine spoke out on his Channel 5 show to share what his BBC co-stars thought about the former newsreader.

He declared: "He’s not somebody who was liked very much, he was tricky to deal with.

"You knew that if you spent time with him, he would slag off at least ten other people.” Even those who previously considered themselves friends of Huw have now distanced themselves following the scandal.

BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell was one of those who'd had the opportunity to get to know him, having "expressed sympathy" for him last year. However, he's now made it clear that he sees him as "utterly deplorable".

He told the Daily Mail that he believes the broadcaster put the BBC in an "impossible position" by declining to resign five months earlier than he did, when he was first arrested and placed under investigation last November.

He argued: "He would have known then that the game was up.

"The very least he should do now, if he has a shred of decency, is to repay the money the BBC has paid him since his arrest.”

The calls for the BBC to recoup money from him are not new, as it had already emerged that Huw was reportedly paid £475,000 between 2023 and 2024.

He was off air for months without losing his salary but eventually quit the corporation in April.

Jeremy Vine entered that debate last week too, chatting to royal journalist Jennie Bond about the tricky topic.

She argued that if he had "any dignity left", he would repay the funds - but she wasn't hopeful.

"I think it would be gracious of him to do that [but] I don't think there's any legal recourse for the BBC," she lamented.

"We need to remember that the BBC as a whole is being tarnished - reputationally this is very, very damaging."