Huw Edwards, once the BBC's most senior news presenter, has pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
He admitted having 41 indecent images of children, which had been sent to him by another man on WhatsApp, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.
They included seven category A images, the most serious classification - two of which showed a child aged between about seven and nine.
Police later revealed the man who sent the images to Edwards was a convicted paedophile.
Until last year, Edwards was one of the main presenters on BBC One's News at Ten and often fronted coverage of major national events.