British comedian and children's author David Walliams has been named as the celebrity at the center of sexual misconduct allegations published on Tuesday by The Guardian and ITV News, following a three-year joint investigation and his failed High Court bid to keep his identity secret.
Multiple women allege Walliams pursued them for sexual purposes when they were teenagers or young women, in incidents dating back to 2003. Two women say they first met him when they were 15. One woman alleges he sexually assaulted her at his house when she was 15; another says she had sex with him at 17 after meeting him at a fan event at 15, and believes she was groomed because of the power imbalance between them. Walliams, 55, denies all the allegations. "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law," he said in a statement to the investigators.
The investigation drew on accounts from more than 30 people, with investigators speaking to more than 100 individuals. It also includes workplace allegations from his time as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, which he judged from 2012 to 2022, and at his former publisher HarperCollins. HarperCollins launched an internal investigation in 2023, one woman received a five-figure settlement, and in 2025 the publisher did not renew his contract and said it would publish no more of his titles.
Walliams sought an injunction against Independent Television News and Guardian News and Media to block publication of the allegations. High Court judge Mr Justice Nicklin rejected the application on November 3, and Walliams let the deadline to appeal pass without applying, clearing the way for publication on November 10. ITV News aired the documentary "David Walliams: Power and Silence" on Tuesday night at 10:50 p.m.
The fallout was swift. The BBC called the allegations "serious" and said it is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by Walliams on its platforms, removing some programmes, including Little Britain, from iPlayer while the review is under way. His literary agent, Independent Talent Group, dropped him, HarperCollins said it would cease publishing his work, and the Labour Party suspended his membership.
The Metropolitan Police said it had not received any related reports of sexual assault or any other offences, and urged anyone affected to come forward, giving the reference 4900/10NOV26. No police investigation or criminal charges have been reported.
In his statement, Walliams said he realized he had "at times behaved thoughtlessly" toward people he had casual sexual relationships with and regretted not always taking their feelings into account, but he denied any criminal conduct and rejected claims of grooming.
