BBC officially scrubs Huw Edwards from classic Doctor Who as episode returns with new disclaimer warning
The BBC has restored a Doctor Who episode to iPlayer after removing disgraced presenter Huw Edwards’ voice and replacing it with new dialogue recorded by actress Becky Wright.
The episode, titled Fear Her, returned to the streaming platform this morning, six months after being taken down following Edwards’ guilty plea to accessing child abuse images.
Wright, who has previously worked on Doctor Who podcast series, has redubbed Edwards’ original commentary which featured during news clips in the 2006 episode.
The story follows events at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony where a young girl makes stadium crowds mysteriously vanish.
The restored version features modified dialogue and carries a disclaimer noting the programme has been edited since its original broadcast.
The changes to the episode’s dialogue are substantial, with Wright recording entirely new commentary for key scenes.
In the original version, Edwards described the disappearing crowd saying: “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?”
The new version expands this dialogue, with Wright saying: “My God, what’s going on here? The crowd has vanished, they’re gone, everyone has gone.
“Thousands of people have just gone, right in front of my eyes, it’s impossible. Bob? Bob, can we join you in the box? Not you too Bob…”
When the Doctor and Rose Tyler save the day, Wright’s new commentary states: “Just look at this, utterly incredible scenes at the Olympic Stadium.
“80,000 athletes and spectators, they disappeared, they’ve come back. They’ve returned, they’ve reappeared. It’s quite incredible.”
Edwards was removed from the episode last August after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children by receiving them during online chats.
The former BBC News at Ten presenter received a six-month suspended prison sentence in September 2024 and was placed on the sex offenders’ register.
The judge noted that Edwards’ reputation was in “tatters” after being once the “most recognised” news presenter in the UK.
However, the court determined Edwards did not “present a risk or danger” to the public or children.
Edwards apologised for what he described as the “repugnant” nature of his offences during the court proceedings.
The charges involved images shared via WhatsApp between December 2020 and April 2022, including category A, B and C images.
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The BBC noted it is “actively considering the availability” of its archive content following Edwards’ conviction.
The broadcaster explained: “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.”
The restored episode now carries an iPlayer disclaimer stating: “This programme has been edited since broadcast. There are a number of reasons why a programme may have been edited including legal, contractual or technical issues.”