Piers Morgan has described Huw Edwards as a “stand up guy” after the broadcaster was named as the BBC presenter involved in the sex pictures scandal.

Last week it was reported that an unnamed presenter had paid a young person £35,000 for sexually explicit pictures over the course of three years.

It is understood the incident took place when the young person was 17-years-old until the age of 20.

READ MORE: BBC stars who could replace Huw Edwards – BBC Breakfast legend to Channel 5 star

Since then, three more people have shared their own experiences with the household name which alleged to include how one person in their early 20s met with the presenter on a dating app before they received several “threatening messages.”

Meanwhile, another claimed to receive messages using love hearts and kisses on Instagram when they were also 17-years-old.

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On Wednesday (July 12) Huw’s wife Vicky Flind named him as the BBC star facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images in a statement issued on his behalf.

In her statement, she said her husband was “suffering from serious mental health issues” and is now “receiving in-patient hospital care where he will stay for the foreseeable future” as she asked for privacy for her family.

The statement said: "In light of the recent reporting regarding the BBC presenter, I'm making this statement on behalf of my husband, Huw Edwards, after what has been five extremely difficult days for our family.

"I am doing this primarily out of concern for his mental well-being and to protect our children."

The TV star has been taken off air while the channel conducts an investigation after Metropolitan police confirmed that "no offence has been committed".

Now, former GMB star Piers Morgan has shared his thoughts on the latest update at the top of his show TalkTV.

He told viewers: "He's authoritative and above all, he's always been trusted. By all accounts, the audiences love him. I know him personally, he's always been a very stand up guy.

“But today's news that he is the presenter behind the BBC's sex picture scandal comes as a huge shock to everyone who knows him, maybe to his family, certainly to millions of people who are used to watching him on the news each night.

“Probably a shock to his colleagues at the BBC. The speculation was becoming completely unsustainable.”

The broadcaster added: “Many other BBC presenters were being shamed and vilified on social media, for something they had nothing to do with …

“Viewers would have noticed Huw had vanished overnight from the nightly news bulletins.

“He is now in a very serious situation. He probably feels like he's losing everything," he concluded.

The dad-of-three previously urged the unnamed BBC presenter to “come forward” if they had “nothing to hide.”

He said: "The presenter concerned, we all know who it is. The public doesn't know who it is yet. Would it be prudent for this presenter to come out if he has nothing to hide?

"If what this young alleged victim has put in this legal letter is true and there is nothing legal or improper about whatever relationship they may or may not have had.

"Would it not be the smart thing to do for this presenter to come out and talk frankly about this? And maybe not even defend himself but say, 'This is what happened and I have nothing to hide.'"

At the time, former BBC Newsnight presenter Michael Crick agreed: “I think the managers in the BBC, there is some frustration there that this presenter hasn't done that yet and they dearly wish that they would do so.

“I would think at some point they're going to have to come out and make a statement about what did and what didn't happen."

Piers also urged the presenter to speak out in order to save their own reputation in addition to the reputation of his fellow male co-stars.

He went on: “While this crisis rages on, the BBC and the presenter involved are still leaving other male stars to defend their own reputations.

"Presenters like Gary Lineker, Rylan Clark and Jeremy Vine have all been disgracefully smeared and defamed by armchair detectives who don’t understand the devastating impact it has," he said.

"The situation is clearly untenable. Every journalist and politician in the Britain knows exactly who the presenter is.

"Increasingly, members of the public know who it is because of the way social media behaves these days, and more of them will work it out by the minute.

"If you take a major star off air without warning, viewers will notice," he concluded.

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