He had such an impact on politics that his statue stands alongside Churchill in the House of Commons. Yet David Lloyd George from Llanystumdwy is often better known for his spicy private life, rather than the momentous social change he instigated.

News at 10 presenter Huw Edwards tried to set the record straight with a three-part series for BBC Wales - Lloyd George with Huw Edwards: The People's Champion.

It's not the first series about the life of Wales' revolutionary leader, but it could be the most compelling to date - and that's partly because Edwards himself feels so passionately about the rightful place of Lloyd George in history.

"He was rightly regarded as one of the greatest Prime Ministers in British history, but today he enjoys a less than impressive reputation," says Edwards. "He was one of the most brilliant statesmen of the 20th century and one of the greatest Welshmen of all time.

"And yet if you mention his name today - even in parts of Wales - you risk an unpleasant response because the Welsh Wizard with the colourful private life has been reduced in the eyes of many people to the level of a smutty joke. And I have to say, I find that a grotesque injustice."

Edwards is not the only one ready to pay tribute to Lloyd George's political achievements. In the programme, Chancellor Gordon Brown is quick to acknowledge him as "an incredibly creative force" and fellow political heavyweight Tony Benn is clearly in awe of the Welshman.

"To look at Lloyd George in that period, he'd have been so far left of New Labour he'd be immediately expelled by Blair," he says. "Pensions, national insurance, health insurance - tremendously advanced, far ahead of what the Americans have done even today.

"I met him in 1937 when my dad was re-elected to the House of Commons and it's very vividly fixed in my mind, this short, magnetic man. I mean, talk about charisma, the man absolutely radiated it."

Using rare archive film - including a long-lost and carefully restored silent movie - the programme follows Lloyd George back to his village roots in Llanystumdwy near Criccieth, where he grew up in a tiny two-bedroomed cottage with his mother, brother, sister, grandmother and uncle (the family's sole breadwinner, a shoemaker) after his father's early death. He famously described himself as a 'cottage-bred man' and was extremely proud of his roots.

"He was the first British politician to go from very humble origins to 10 Downing Street," points out Huw Edwards. "He never forgot what it was to be poor and he had a burning desire to improve the lives of working class people. And over a long and extraordinary career, that's what he did."

His quest for social justice was evident even during school days in Llanystumdwy. With deep class divisions in the village, the majority of Welsh-speaking, devoutly non-conformist children had no choice but an English-language, Anglican education because the local school was run by the Church of England.

Each year, the children had to demonstrate their loyalty by reciting the Anglican catechism to an audience including the local vicar and squire. Lloyd George, aged 10, decided to use this event to make his stand and refused to recite the words - and a political star was born.

With contributions from leading experts, including biographer and historian Dr John Campbell, nephew Dr William George, grand-daughter and historian Professor Margaret Macmillan and historian Dr John Davies, the first programme explains how early days as a solicitor in Porthmadog laid the ground for a future shaping politics.

Throughout a long-distance, although long-lasting, marriage to wife Margaret, David Lloyd George's career was always to come first. There was no shortage of the focus and drive needed to fulfil Lloyd George's ambitions, and those qualities shone through from a very early age.

"As a boy, he wrote in his diary after visiting the House of Commons, describing it as 'the region of my future domain'," says Huw Edwards. "Now his statue stands opposite Churchill at the entrance to the debating chamber.

"He was hardly a saint - yes, he was a womaniser and he had other failings too. But his errors cannot detract from what he achieved. He's one of the greatest social reformers Britain has ever seen."

More from Huw on The Welsh Wizard.