An investigation by the Guardian and ITV News has found multiple women who allege that David Walliams abused his power and position as a celebrity to prey on them for sexual purposes when they were teenagers or young women. The comedian and former Britain's Got Talent judge denies any wrongdoing.
Some of the women, like a woman using the pseudonym Alex, say their interactions with Walliams were traumatising and have requested that pseudonyms be used to protect their anonymity. Most say they were over 18 when they had interactions with Walliams, but a woman the Guardian is calling Jade alleges that, like Alex, she met him when she was 15.
Allegations of grooming and sexual contact
Alex says she met Walliams in January 2004 when she was 15 and studying for her GCSEs. Walliams was 32 and a rising star with the comedy sketch show Little Britain. After she gave him printouts of scripts she had written, he phoned her at home. Over the next two years, they spoke on the phone and exchanged emails. By the time she was 17, she says, they were having sex.
Jade alleges that in summer 2007, when she was 15, Walliams contacted her on MySpace and arranged to meet her at a cafe in Soho, central London. She says that during the meeting he asked if she had ever had sex before, and that after they left, he kissed her forcefully and invited her back to his house. She alleges that at his house he lifted her T-shirt, pulled down her bra and sucked her breast, and took her hand and started to put it down his trousers. She says she pulled away and he agreed to stop, saying they should wait until she was 16.
Lawyers for Walliams say he never engaged in grooming young women and denies that he had any sexual contact with Jade. They say the allegations of serious criminal conduct are false.
Workplace conduct and publisher response
The allegations extend to his conduct in the workplace, with several sources describing inappropriate behaviour towards women at both Britain's Got Talent (BGT) and his publisher HarperCollins. In September, HarperCollins announced it would no longer publish Walliams' extensive back catalogue, having dropped its bestselling author last year. The Guardian and ITV News can now reveal that the publisher severed ties with the star author after concerns were raised about his behaviour over several years, including an allegation that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee and pursued another.
Behind the scenes at BGT, in work messaging groups, concerns were raised about Walliams messaging young female runners. One 19-year-old showed her colleagues the messages she was receiving from Walliams, including comments referring to her as "gorgeous" and "Hot" under a photo on Instagram. A male former BGT staff member says a 21-year-old female runner showed him messages in which Walliams was asking her out. Another BGT insider, Amy, alleges Walliams stared at her chest in a way that made her feel uncomfortable and overheard him refer to her as "the one with the arse".
Lawyers for Walliams say he does not recall making this remark, but agree that had he done so, it would have been hurtful. They add that he denies staring at her chest or being predatory. Representatives for the production companies Fremantle and Syco, which produce BGT, each say that neither company had any knowledge of any of the allegations levelled at Walliams and they had never received any complaints about him. ITV, which broadcasts the show, said it was sorry to hear of the allegations but that Fremantle confirmed that "no complaint has ever been made to them about David Walliams' behaviour".
Legal response and denial
Walliams denies any wrongdoing. Earlier this year his lawyers took a case to the high court to try to stop the allegations being published. The case was dismissed, so now the women's stories can be revealed.
In a letter addressed to journalists working on this investigation, Walliams wrote: "Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with. I realise I did not always take people's feelings properly into account. That is something I regret. And whilst 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 added: "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."
