Power: the Downfall of Huw Edwards; Bait

“When Channel 5 announced a feature-length drama about Huw Edwards, it sounded iffy. What purpose would be served by dredging up this case for a TV true-crime treatment and reminding us all that this man ever existed? Yet Power: the Downfall of Huw Edwards, with Martin Clunes in the title role, is worthwhile. It shows, via skin-crawling reconstructions, exactly how Edwards groomed and manipulated a teenage boy, abusing the power that came with his BBC role. It gives a voice to the family that first blew the whistle on the newsreader. And the depiction of him is so sinister, so unforgiving, it should ensure that he never works again.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“Should it have been made? Edwards, unsurprisingly, doesn’t seem to think so, suggesting that the programme-makers hadn’t been responsible or fair in their approach to making it. It does only show this secret side to Edwards. We don’t see very much of him, for instance, interacting with BBC colleagues at work or with friends. But it is an instructive and important depiction of the blatant abuse of power. And also the gobsmacking recklessness of a man with so very much to lose, who has now burnt his bridges.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Edwards is, of course, the high-profile BBC newsreader who resigned from the BBC in 2024, two months before he was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children. Despite pleading guilty, Edwards remains on the defensive to this day, releasing a statement prior to the broadcast of this film asserting that “Channel 5’s ‘factual drama’ is hardly likely to convey the reality of what happened,” while adding: “I am repelled by the idea that some people enjoy viewing indecent images of children.” But his protestations are likely to fade away now that Power is out in the world. Immediately, you can see why it got its name. The feature-length drama is a portrayal of a powerful man, utilising a queasy power dynamic to convince a teenage boy to fulfil his sexual desires. The resulting film might not represent the pinnacle of drama – in truth, its eagerness to exist comes at the expense of nuance – but it does go an awfully long way to capture a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach.”
Stuart Heritage, The Guardian

“Riz Ahmed’s Bait is extraordinary and daring. A measure of that is the six-part comedy-drama manages both to confirm the British actor’s suitability for the role of James Bond, while at the same time torching his chances of ever getting the role. That the streamer bringing us the show now actually owns the Bond intellectual property only adds to the piquancy.”
Chris Bennion, Telegraph

“Generally, Bait is best when Ahmed-the-performer is bouncing off one or more of the excellent cast, and when Ahmed-the-writer is exposing his most petty, narcissistic and self-absorbed instincts. It’s when he’s soliloquising with a pig’s head – in place of Hamlet’s more traditional skull – that the patience is strained. Nobody needs reminding that this guy can act, and could play Bond backwards with his eyes closed if he wanted to. The point, surely, is that he’s got better things to do. So to follow up all that courageous, self-lacerating writing with a scene in which Shah triumphantly wows a director (“I’ve never seen anybody turn a performance round like that!”) feels not only pointlessly self-congratulatory but also, well … a bit bait.”
Ellen E Jones, The Guardian