David Walliams has been accused of sexual miconduct after he lost a court battle trying to block publication of the allegations
David Walliams has today been named as the celebrity who tried to block publication of sexual misconduct allegations in a High Court case.
ITV News and the Guardian have reported allegations the comedian and author groomed fans as young as 15 and harassed women in the workplace over a number of years.
The TV star, author and comedian denies allthe allegations, saying he is ‘devastated’ by the claims and insisting he is no ‘sexual predator’.
Walliams, 55, had asked the High Court to block the publication of the investigation, with his lawyers arguing if the allegations were made public he would likely kill himself.
Today’s accusations follow months of rumours about Walliams, whose once booming, multi-million pound media empire has been slowly crumbling for years.
Cancelled TV shows
Little Britain was once the jewel of Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ careers, but was pulled from major streaming platforms like BBC iPlayer and Netflix in June 2020 after renewed outrage at the use of blackface and outdated cultural stereotypes
The show first aired in 2003 and was known for its controversial sense of humour, running for three series until 2006, with a number of specials following.
During a stage show of Little Britain in 2006, Walliams was known to perform an act called Hide The Sausage, where he performed as a former children’s entertainer and sex offender named Des Kaye, which saw him touch and pull down the trousers of audience members and attempt to kiss them.
The pair also wrote Little Britain USA, which aired in 2008, and would go on to write BBC airport mockumentary Come Fly With Me, a play on documentaries such as Airport and Airline, which aired in 2010 and featured a similar style of comedy to Little Britain.
Both Walliams and Lucas apologised for their use of blackface in the shows, calling it ‘wrong’with Lucas also describing the comedy in the series as “cruel”.
Banned books
In 2018, Walliams’ books constituted 44% of all sales of HarperCollins children’s titles, which generated revenue of £100 million.
However, in September this year Walliams’ entire back catalogue of children’s books was dropped after HarperCollins very publicly cut ties following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women by Walliams.
Over the last three months, remaining copies of his books have disappeared from shops with e-book and audiobook editions also withdrawn online as part of a full of erasure of his literary output.
The TV star published 23 children’s books, beginning with The Boy in the Dress in 2008, as well as his short story collections and picture books.
His hugely successful titles, including Mr Stink, Gangsta Granny and Ratburger, have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, while six have been adapted for television with stars including Joanna Lumley and Sheridan Smith appearing in them.
Theme Park closure
In 2021, the World of David Walliams opened up at Alton Towers costing an estimated £20million and providing another lucrative money maker for the TV star.
Among the rides in the Walliams-themed area of the park were Gangsta Granny: The Ride, a 360° special effects attraction, as well as Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp, Royal Carousel and Flavio’s Fabulous Fandango.
Earlier this month, Theme park Alton Towers has permanently closed the attraction with immediate effect.
A statement on the theme park’s website said: “The World Of David Walliams will be permanently closed from Tuesday November 3 2026.
“As we are no longer in the main season, guests are encouraged to check the Alton Towers Resort website and app for the latest attraction opening information ahead of their visit.”
Britain’s Got Talent scandal
Walliams first rose to fame alongside Matt Lucas in BBC sketch shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me before joining Britain’s Got Talent as a judge in 2012.
He stayed on the ITV show for a decade before leaving after a leaked transcript revealed offensive remarks he had made about contestants during filming.
Walliams made the comments about contestants as they auditioned during filming breaks in January 2020 at the London Palladium.
He apologised for the “disrespectful comments”, saying they had been made during a private conversation which was “never intended to be shared”.
He later sued Britain’s Got Talent production company FremantleMedia over the leaking of the remarks, with the case settled in November 2023.
Matt Lucas feud
David met his comedy partner Matt Lucas at the National Youth Theatre and the pair bonded over their shared love of sitcoms and impressionists.
They hit the big time in 2003 with BBC comedy Little Britain which ran until 2009. They later wrote and starred in Come Fly With Me, which ran from 2010-2011.
The same year the show ended, reports circled that the friendship had become strained.
Matt revealed in his autobiography about how tensions rose between the pair in 2005 during a Little Britain Live tour, leading to an ugly fight backstage.
One particular disagreement over David‘s facial hair descended into a creaming match.
Matt explained they were “suddenly hurling obscenities at each other”.
In the book, Matt also made a series of snide digs at his former partner, sniping: “Walliams has now sold so many children’s books he can probably buy his own private jet, all decked out in pink, with a river inside it for him to swim up.”
David got his revenge when he released his own autobiography, Camp David, in 2012.
While promoting the book he was asked about his relationship with Matt on Radio 4, to which he replied: “We’re very different people and probably want different things and had different working methods.”
He added: “Well, it’s over for the time being. Whether it’s over forever I don’t know.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
