Why Huw Edwards isn't doing election coverage for the BBC this year

The BBC's general election night coverage will be headed by political editor Laura Kuenssberg and news anchor Clive Myrie after the resignation of Huw Edwards. Edwards held the much-coveted role in previous elections but left the corporation in April after four decades at the BBC following 'medical advice' from his doctors.

In April, the BBC announced: "Huw Edwards has today resigned and left the BBC. After 40 years of service, Huw has explained that his decision was made on the basis of medical advice from his doctors. The BBC has accepted his resignation which it believes will allow all parties to move forward. We don't believe it appropriate to comment further."

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The BBC has since confirmed its former political editor Laura Kuenssberg and news anchor Clive Myrie, along with BBC political editor Chris Mason, will head up the main programme on election night. They will be joined in the BBC’s London studio by Reeta Chakrabarti and election guru Professor Sir John Curtice.

Fiona Bruce, Victoria Derbyshire, Naga Munchetty, Nick Watt, and Alex Forsyth will be among the BBC presenters and correspondents reporting from key locations around the country.

The BBC's election night programme was previously only presented by one anchor. Huw Edwards took over the role from David Dimbleby for the 2019 election but was suspended from the corporation in July last year following allegations.

Five days after the first report of the allegation, the Metropolitan Police said it would not be taking any further action as it did not believe any criminal activity had taken place.

On the BBC's election night line-up, CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, said: "In this election, we have one thing on our minds above all else – the voters. Throughout the campaign we’ll be giving them the facts and information they need to make up their own minds. We know the way people are consuming news is changing; we’ll have the most comprehensive ever offer across every platform, so we can be where people are.

"And once the ballots are cast, a truly fantastic line-up of journalistic talent, headed by Laura and Clive, will bring voters the results and help make sense of them. We’ve assembled a fresh, dynamic team to bring insight, experience - and perhaps a little wit – to audiences for the whole election night and beyond. It’s incredible to have such breadth and depth of expertise to call upon, up and down the country, when it matters most."