A prominent actress and survivor of child sexual abuse has criticised disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards for entering this year’s National Eisteddfod poetry competition, saying that if he had won it would have been “catastrophic”. Edwards, who in 2024 admitted accessing 41 images of children, including seven of the most serious type, and received a six-month sentence suspended for two years, said his poem was a tribute to his father and not for “sickeningly self-righteous Welsh speakers”.
Warning: You may find content in this article distressing
Edwards has previously received criticism for posts on his Substack blog. The National Eisteddfod, Wales’ biggest cultural festival, said its process means “nobody, including the judges, know beforehand who has competed”.
Those taking part in the Eisteddfod’s poetry competition do so under a pseudonym, with entrants’ real details kept in a sealed envelope and winners’ identities only revealed when announced.
On Sunday, Edwards published a post on his Substack blog stating he had “attempted to write a poem” for the first time in his life, having “drawn inspiration” from the National Eisteddfod.
BBC-produced Newyddion S4C has received confirmation that Edwards’ poem, written under the pseudonym “Y Gelyn” (The Enemy), had been officially entered.
Actress Sera Cracroft, best-known for her role in long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm, has previously spoken publicly about her experience of suffering child sex abuse. She was highly critical of the former newsreader’s latest publication.
“Had he won, the image of him being crowned in front of the nation is hurtful to survivors,” she said.
“Huw has said he is receiving mental health support and to be completely honest, I don't think it's working for him.
“I'm very, very disappointed that he's done that so soon after being convicted of creating paedophilia online.
“Some of the images were in the worst category possible.”
She added it was “far too soon for him to try and redeem himself”.
Edwards admitted to accessing 41 images of children, including seven of the most serious type
Newyddion S4C understands Edwards’ attempt fell far short of winning the competition, with his poem placed in the third grouping of entries - a system used by the judging panel to rank entries.
His Substack account had previously drawn criticism from child sexual abuse campaigners.
In recent posts, he said he felt “abhorrence” towards the offences he committed and admitted to, and stated that his sentence would become spent on 16 September.
In an entry last month titled On Hatred, he also stated he was “not a child rapist” and that his “crime was to click on files sent to me by someone else”.
But Cracroft, who says many other survivors have contacted her since she first discussed her own ordeal publicly, believes his crimes were of a serious nature and that he should not have entered the competition.
“It's very important for us to realise, as the digital world expands, so does the abuse of children, and Huw was found guilty of accessing paedophilia,” she said.
“I think he should have reconciled himself to the fact that he has hurt a lot of people and he maybe needs to research it more. When he does something like this it has huge repercussions on their mental and emotional health.
“Perhaps if he spoke to survivors, it might help him understand the effects these crimes have on victims.”
She also called on the Eisteddfod to review their entry rules, where poets compete under a pseudonym.
The National Eisteddfod said: “We have a process in place which ensures nobody, including the judges, know beforehand who has competed.
“After each Eisteddfod, we have a period of appraisal to ensure our processes are appropriate - this year will be no exception.”
In a statement - shown by Newyddion S4C to Cracroft, who agreed to it being published in full - Edwards said: “The poem was a tribute to my father. Nothing more or less than that.
“There was no way on earth I was going to win the competition and I knew that. The poisonous narrative encouraged by the press two years ago needed correcting.”
Addressing Cracroft’s criticisms, he added:
“This wasn't a poem for the sickeningly self-righteous Welsh speakers - Sera amongst them - who take advantage of every opportunity to speak unthinkingly on every subject under the sun.
“She and her type are far too willing to ignore the damaging effects of mental ill health. In that, they are loyal to the heritage of London's tabloid papers.”
If you have been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available at BBC Action Line.
##
## More top stories
Son who kept mum's body in freezer for years collected £78k of her benefits
I didn't know I'd been hosting a parasite for years - until the most intense pain of my life
My late grandparents are frozen in time on Google Maps - it's my favourite place on the internet
