Here, Edwards tells BBC News Online about why he believes the language can survive - and how.

This is the first major television series about the Welsh language made in the English language, and I have to say it is probably one of the most enjoyable things I have done in the past ten years.

The series has been quite a challenge.

It is an attempt to be informative without being dry.

I wasn't interested in presenting a dreary history lecture in six parts.

Protests by campaigners have been common

The big challenge for me was to try to do the series in a way that is accessible and lively without being patronising - and that is a difficult balance to strike.

I very much hope that the series will appeal to all, Welsh-speaking or not.

My aim throughout has been to take an inclusive approach, not an exclusive one.

I want to encourage debate about the language, and improve understanding of its history.

This is the only way in which we can make informed decisions about its future.

I learned a lot about the language and filled a lot of gaps in my own knowledge of Welsh history.

I regard Welsh as a European cultural treasure that must be safeguarded for future generations.

I realised that, while I thought I had a fairly good understanding of it all, there was an awful lot which - to my shame - I didn't know.

I know that most people in Wales have a view about the language.

Most are very supportive and sympathetic towards the Welsh language - and that is a huge wave of hope for me - but the series recognises that language issues can polarise opinion.

I make my opinion clear during the series.

I regard Welsh as a European cultural treasure that must be safeguarded for future generations.

As we see in the series, Welsh has been around for at least 1500 years and its achievements are immense.

Edwards filled gaps in his knowledge of the language's history

It has spawned a body of literature that stands comparison with any in the world.

It has inspired poets. It has been declaimed from pulpits and whispered in the ears of a million sleepy children.

It has changed many times and it is still changing today.

We shouldn't, we mustn't, let the language slip away.

My message, a simple one, is: The Welsh language can survive.

I'm convinced of that.

It can flourish once again.

But it can't do either of those things without your support and, above all, without your goodwill.

The Story of Welsh with Huw Edwards is broadcast at 2235GMT on Wednesdays from 8 January on BBC One Wales, and repeated on Thursdays at 2125GMT on BBC 2W - Digital TV for Wales.

The series will also be shown across the UK on Tuesdays at 1900 GMT from 14 January on BBC Four.