Quick summary
- Comedian Nish Kumar says the comedy industry knew of shows that told staff to keep young women out of David Walliams‘ dressing room, according to The Independent.
- Kumar made the claim on his podcast Pod Save the UK. It is his account of industry talk, and it is not a proven fact.
- Walliams was accused of misconduct towards women and girls, one as young as 15, in reports by The Guardian and ITV News on 10 November. He denies the allegations.
- Walliams is not facing criminal charges. He says he has “not broken the law”.
The David Walliams dressing room claim came from Nish Kumar on Thursday, when the comedian said on his podcast that people across the comedy industry had heard of productions asking that no young women enter Walliams’ dressing room. The Independent reported the remarks. Walliams has denied all the allegations made against him.
What Nish Kumar said on the podcast
Kumar, 41, told listeners of Pod Save the UK that, in recent years, there were instances of Walliams being booked on shows where the instruction was that no young women should go into his dressing room. He described this as something “we had all heard” within the industry. The claim is Kumar’s own and rests on what he says was widely discussed. The Independent did not report any production confirming such a policy.
His main target was not one man but the people around him. Kumar called out what he described as “enablers” who kept booking Walliams, and asked why the industry was focused on punishing individuals rather than on those who knew and protected them. “If you can’t have 50 per cent of the population of the country in a room with a guy,” he said, “don’t f***ing put him on your show.”
The episode also covered Russell Brand, who was sentenced this week to 10 years and six months in prison after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. Kumar argued that producers who keep working with such figures should face accountability too.
The allegations and Walliams’ response
The Guardian and ITV News published their investigation on Tuesday, 10 November. ITV’s documentary was titled Power and Silence, according to The Independent. The reports accuse Walliams of grooming, sexual assault and a pattern of inappropriate behaviour towards women and girls. Some of the alleged incidents date back more than two decades.
The Independent reports that lawyers for Walliams had sought an injunction to stop him being named. A judge dismissed the bid. Walliams was given permission to appeal but did not, and the investigations were published the day after the appeal deadline passed.
In a letter to the journalists, Walliams wrote that he sometimes “behaved thoughtlessly” towards people he had casual sexual relationships with and regretted not always considering their feelings. He added that while a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, “abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did”. He wrote: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law.”
A friendship under fresh scrutiny
The Walliams and Brand stories are being read together partly because the two men were close. The Independent’s profile of their friendship says they met in 2002 on the set of the TV drama Cruise of the Gods, which starred Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan, and became close once Brand had stopped using heroin.
The same piece recalls the 2006 British Comedy Awards, where Jonathan Ross joked that the ceremony was “probably going home with David Walliams” and compared it to a 15-year-old. Lawyers for Ross told The Guardian he did not write the joke himself.
Calls for change
In an editorial, The Independent argued the episode should be “a wake-up call” for showbusiness. It urged the government to consider making grooming a specific criminal offence and to give managers a duty to act on suspicions. The paper noted that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said such behaviour is likely still happening. Our earlier coverage looks at ministers weighing a law change and the wider industry fallout.
What happens next
No court has made any finding against Walliams, and he faces no criminal charges at this stage. Pressure is now on broadcasters and producers to explain who knew what, and on the government to respond to calls for new offences. We will report further confirmed developments in our David Walliams coverage and under Celebrities.
Frequently asked questions
What did Nish Kumar say about David Walliams?
Kumar said on Pod Save the UK that the comedy industry had heard of shows where the instruction was for no young women to enter Walliams’ dressing room. He offered this as industry talk, and the claim has not been independently confirmed in the reports reviewed here.
Has David Walliams responded to the allegations?
Yes. He denies the allegations, says he has not broken the law and says he is not a sexual predator. He also wrote that he regrets how he sometimes treated people he had casual relationships with.
Is David Walliams facing criminal charges?
No. The Independent reports that he is not facing criminal charges.
