Quick summary
- A three-year joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News, published this week, makes allegations against David Walliams. He denies any wrongdoing through his lawyers.
- The ABC, Seven Network and Stan removed his shows within hours, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
- Dymocks told all stores to stop selling his books and related merchandise.
- Jonathan Ross says he is “horrified” and has explained a 2004 joke about Walliams.
- Walliams is not formally under police investigation, according to Nine.
The fallout from the David Walliams allegations spread quickly across Australia and the UK this week. The ABC, Seven Network and Stan pulled the 55-year-old’s programs, and Dymocks ordered his books off its shelves, after The Guardian and ITV News published claims that Walliams groomed teenage fans and harassed young female colleagues. Walliams denies the allegations.
What the investigation alleges
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Guardian and ITV News report accuses Walliams of grooming teenage fans, sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl and harassing young female colleagues. Women described their experiences dating back to 2003.
Two women are named only by first name in the report. One, “Alex”, says she met Walliams at 15 when he was 32 and that sexual contact began when she was 17. His lawyers say he understood her to be 18 and deny that he groomed her. The other, “Jade”, says she met him at 15 in 2007. His lawyers say he denies any sexual contact with her.
Walliams told ITV News and The Guardian he was not a “sexual predator” and had not “broken the law”, according to Women’s Agenda. The SMH reports that he first sought a suppression order in the British High Court, arguing publication could put his life at risk. The court refused it.
Shows and books pulled in Australia
The commercial response was fast. The SMH reports that the ABC, Seven and Stan removed his shows within hours of publication. Dymocks chief executive David Allen confirmed that all stores were told on Wednesday to stop sales and take every Walliams book and any related merchandise off shelves.
The scale of what is being withdrawn is large. Walliams began writing children’s books in 2008, including The Boy in the Dress, Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy, and the SMH cites an estimated 60 million copies sold worldwide. He first found fame with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch show Little Britain, and judged Britain’s Got Talent from 2012 to 2022. He also sat on the Australian panel in 2022.
Women’s Agenda reports that publisher HarperCollins dropped him last year after an investigation into his behaviour.
Jonathan Ross and the 2004 joke
Attention has also turned to what the industry said in public years ago. In a statement to The Guardian, Ross said he was “as horrified” by the Walliams revelations as by the crimes of Russell Brand, who was sentenced this week for rape and sexual assault. Nine reports the sentence as 10 years and six months.
Ross has been criticised over a line he delivered at the 2004 British Comedy Awards, when he said the awards show was “probably going home with David Walliams” after calling it a 15-year-old. He says the writing team supplied the joke and he took it as a reference to Walliams publicly dating younger women. Had he suspected it referred to real events, he said, he would have refused to perform it.
The Guardian also catalogued other on-air nods to Walliams’ reputation with women, including a 2013 Comic Relief sketch and a 2009 exchange with Alan Carr on Chatty Man. An unnamed insider told the paper it suggested a “degree of enabling”. Walliams’ lawyers said he had never hidden that he “enjoyed the company of women” for a period of his life and that the tabloids covered it.
Voices from inside comedy
Comedian Lucy Beaumont told Sky News she was one of the whistleblowers. She says she did not witness any misconduct herself, but that a male TV worker told her he had been asked to take young women to Walliams’ dressing room. She said she fears she may not work in television again.
UK Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones said she was “horrified” but not surprised, and called for change to how non-disclosure agreements are used, according to Women’s Agenda. Nine notes that broadcaster Piers Morgan had criticised Walliams publicly for years, but that those comments concern his professional conduct and predate this week’s report.
What happens next
Walliams is not formally under police investigation, according to Nine. His lawyers continue to reject the allegations. More retailers, broadcasters and streamers may review his catalogue, and the pressure on the UK industry over NDAs is likely to continue. For earlier coverage, see our report on the fallout across the industry, and everything we publish under the David Walliams tag. More entertainment coverage is in Celebrities.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Frequently asked questions
Has David Walliams been charged?
No. Nine reports he is not formally under police investigation. He denies the allegations through his lawyers.
Which Australian outlets removed his work?
The ABC, Seven Network and Stan removed his shows, and Dymocks stopped selling his books, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Who published the allegations?
The Guardian and ITV News, after a three-year joint investigation.
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