A MURAL of the disgraced former BBC News anchor Huw Edwards has been removed from his Welsh hometown after he admitted having indecent images of children.
The artwork was part of a bigger mural unveiled in the presenter’s home village of Llangennech in 2023.
Artist Steve Jenkins is said to have painted over the portrait on Tuesday after it was announced Edwards had been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children.
Edwards later admitted having 41 indecent images of children sent to him by a convicted paedophile, including seven Category A images – the most serious type, 12 Category B and 22 Category C.
“It’s such a shame to have to do it but charges like that are disgraceful,” Mr Jenkins, from Llanelli, told the BBC after painting over the artwork.
“I feel deeply saddened to have to remove it as the whole village loved it when it was first done.
“I was given the topic of the village to base the mural on and we thought it would be nice if Huw was included.”
The artwork featured alongside many eye-catching murals designed by the local artist to freshen up an underpass, which Edwards had visited after it was completed.
“It was lovely, he brought his mum along to see it and that’s why this is such a bitter pill to swallow,” Mr Jenkins told the BBC.
Llanelli councillor Gary Jones said the mural had been defaced and the community council had “already removed the photograph of Huw Edwards that hung in our community centre”.
“He was popular and well respected here in Llangennech and his disgrace will hit people in the village hard,” he told the PA news agency.
Elsewhere, a plaque at Cardiff Castle commemorating the opening of its Interpretation Centre has also been removed, along with an audio guide featuring Edwards’ voice.
An episode of Doctor Who which featured Edwards has also been removed from BBC iPlayer.
Edwards played himself briefly in the Series 2 episode 'Fear Her' which was part of David Tennant's debut series playing the 10th incarnation of the Doctor.
First airing in 2006, the episode takes place in London on the day of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony where the Doctor and Rose investigate a child who has the ability to make people disappear by drawing them.
The episode was removed on Friday, August 2, TV Zone reported.
Explaining the reasoning a BBC spokesperson said: “As you would expect we are actively considering the availability of our archive. While we don't routinely delete content from the BBC archive as it is a matter of historical record, we do consider the continued use and re-use of material on a case-by-case basis.”
They added that the episode had been "temporarily removed" to be "re-dubbed" with only audio changes being made.
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