Quick summary
- The Guardian and ITV News published a joint investigation on 10 November alleging that David Walliams used his fame to pursue young women and teenagers for sex. He denies any wrongdoing.
- Presenter Jonathan Ross said on 11 November he was “horrified” and explained a 2004 awards-show joke about Walliams.
- Comedian Lucy Beaumont says she was one of the whistleblowers and fears she may not work in television again.
- His literary agency has dropped him, Sky has pulled out of the film Fing!, and the BBC is reviewing his programmes.
Jonathan Ross has responded to scrutiny of a 2004 joke about David Walliams, while comedian Lucy Beaumont says she helped bring the allegations to reporters. The reaction came on 11 November, a day after the Guardian and ITV News named Walliams as the subject of their three-year investigation. Walliams, 55, denies the allegations.
David Walliams allegations: what has been reported
According to The Guardian, reporters spoke to more than 100 people and interviewed several women. Some allege that Walliams groomed, pursued and harassed them, two of them when they were 15. The allegations span nearly two decades.
The Guardian says one woman alleged he pursued her after a fan event when she was 15. Another alleged he contacted her on Myspace at the same age and later assaulted her. Walliams’s lawyers told the paper he never engaged in grooming young women.
The reporting almost did not appear. Walliams’s legal team sought an injunction to stop publication, and a court rejected the attempt. Labour MP Jess Phillips told Times Radio that granting it would have set “a terrible precedent”, as quoted by The Guardian.
In statements to ITV News, Walliams said: “I am not a sexual predator… I have not broken the law.” He acknowledged that he “behaved thoughtlessly” toward people he had casual relationships with, but said abusing his power “is something that I never did.”
Jonathan Ross explains the 2004 joke
At the 2004 British Comedy Awards, Ross joked that the awards show was “15 years old” and “probably going home with David Walliams.” The Guardian and ITV News referred to the line in their reporting, and clips of it circulated widely this week.
In a statement reported by Deadline, Ross said he is “as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation.” He called it a “tasteless joke” he would not make today and said the awards’ writing team had supplied it. He believed it referred to Walliams having publicly dated younger women, “exaggerated for comic effect”.
Ross added that had he suspected it referred to real events, he would have refused to use it. Deadline notes there is no suggestion Ross knew of any behaviour Walliams is accused of. The Guardian reports that Ross’s lawyers said he did not write the joke himself.
Ross’s past ties to Russell Brand have also drawn attention. Brand was sentenced this week to 10 years and six months in prison for rape and sexual assault, according to the ABC.
Lucy Beaumont says she was a whistleblower
Beaumont, known for Hullraisers and Taskmaster, told Sky News she was among the people who spoke to reporters. As Deadline reports, she said a television worker raised concerns about teenagers allegedly being brought to Walliams’s dressing room.
The ABC reports that Beaumont did not witness any incident herself and was told about them. She said she later contacted a young woman who had signed a non-disclosure agreement covering conversations with media, family, friends and therapists.
Beaumont said she does not expect to keep getting television work, because people who challenge powerful figures are labelled “trouble causers”.
The industry reacts
Several organisations have moved quickly, based on The Guardian’s account:
- Independent Talent Group, his literary agency, dropped him and said it was “deeply disturbed”.
- Fremantle UK, the company behind Britain’s Got Talent, said it was “disturbed and concerned”. Walliams judged on the show from 2012 to 2022.
- Sky will no longer hold the licence for Fing!, a film Walliams wrote and stars in, due next year.
- The BBC is removing programmes including Little Britain while it reviews all material featuring or written by him.
- His Labour Party membership has been suspended, and Downing Street called the allegations “deeply troubling”.
Our earlier report covers how Fing! was dropped by Stan and Sky. More entertainment coverage sits in our Celebrities section.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the claims the “latest in a long line of reported abuses of power” and said she would meet senior media figures to “draw a line in the sand”.
What happens next
The BBC review is still under way and has no announced end date. Deadline says it has asked Walliams’s legal representatives for comment. Nandy’s meetings with industry leaders are the next stated step for the government.
The allegations are untested in court, and Walliams denies them. Further developments will be added as outlets confirm them.
Frequently asked questions
What are the allegations against David Walliams?
The Guardian and ITV News report that several women allege he used his fame to pursue young women and teenagers for sex, with two saying they were 15. Walliams denies all of it.
What did Jonathan Ross say about the 2004 joke?
Ross called it “tasteless” and said the Comedy Awards writing team supplied it. He said he thought it referred to Walliams dating younger women and was unaware of any real events.
Is Little Britain still available on the BBC?
The BBC has removed some programmes, including Little Britain, from its platforms while it reviews all material featuring or written by Walliams.
Sources
- Deadline: Jonathan Ross statement on Comedy Awards joke
- Deadline: Lucy Beaumont on being blacklisted
- The Guardian: Jonathan Ross “horrified” by Walliams and Brand revelations
- The Guardian: Wednesday briefing on the Walliams investigation
- ABC News: Walliams’s whistleblower doubtful she can work in TV again
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