The Doctor Who episode “Fear Her” has been removed from iPlayer (BBC)
The BBC has removed a 2006 episode of Doctor Who from iPlayer, “Fear Her”, which features disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards.
The episode, from season two of the modern series of Doctor Who starring David Tennant and Billie Piper, is no longer available on the broadcaster’s streaming service.
In the episode, a girl who is being haunted by a demonic, alien version of her abusive, dead father makes everyone disappear in a sport stadium. When this happens, a news clip is seen playing with Edwards’ voice in the background.
He says: “My God, what’s going on here? The crowd has just vanished, right in front of my eyes. It’s impossible. Bob, can we go to you in the box? Bob? Not you too?”
This is not the only British cultural staple that Edwards features in, having appeared in The Great British Menu as a guest judge, joining the panel show Would I Lie To You?, and as a newsreader in the James Bond movie Skyfall.
Season 17, episode 28 of The Great British Menu, in which Edwards appears, has also been removed from iPlayer.
The BBC will also face questions over what to do with the hours of archival footage of Edwards, who was a notable newsreader present for major national moments, such as the weddings of both Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as the Queen’s death.
The Daily Mirror reported that it is “unlikely the BBC will completely erase Edwards from its archive due to some of the footage having ‘historical significance’”.
Edwards pled guilty to three counts of “making indecent images of children”, a legal term that refers to Edwards viewing, downloading, or receiving illegal images via social media.
The charges covered a period between December 2020 and August 2021 and included 41 indecent images of children, ranging from the serious category (A) to the least serious category (C).
Edwards received the illegal images as part of a WhatsApp conversation.