A photograph from 2003 shows David Walliams with his arm around Lilly Creightmore at a star-studded charity event. Creightmore is one of several women who have accused the comedian of grooming them when they were teenagers.
The two-decade-old image places Walliams close to the young woman who now makes the accusation. Talk show host Jonathan Ross and comedian Ricky Gervais are also visible in the photo from the event.
Allegations revealed in joint investigation
The allegations emerged through a joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian. Walliams, 55, has denied the allegations, including any criminal behaviour. There is no suggestion that others pictured at the charity event were aware of any alleged wrongdoing.
Asked what she was accusing Walliams of, Creightmore said: “Grooming me. He was pursuing me at a vulnerable age and place in my life for sexual gratification. I didn’t give him that.”
Creightmore's account of the relationship
Shown the image, Creightmore reportedly said: “I was really uncomfortable there... Poor baby.” She explained: “The thing that upsets me the most is that I was coming from a vulnerable situation as a young adult... and I think as soon as he got to know me, he saw that, and thought I'd be easy to persuade or be able to manipulate. He was making me feel special, plying me with gifts and then disregarding me when he didn’t get what he wanted.”
Former model Creightmore was reportedly 18 when a then 31-year-old Walliams first contacted her. The teenager, who had appeared on the TV show Model Behaviour aged 16, received a card from the star at her home.
The card, featuring a black and white photo of a little girl dressed as an angel, read: “When I saw you at the Little Britain recording, I was enraptured. Then when I saw you in Agent Provocateur, I so wanted to speak to you, but amongst all the frilly knickers I couldn’t find the words. I’d love to take you out sometime. I know we’ve never spoken but you seem lovely. David Walliams.”
Staying at Walliams' home and later contact
Creightmore, reportedly a vulnerable teenager at the time, agreed to meet Walliams. She said she made it clear she was not romantically interested and they became friends. On one occasion, when she had nowhere to live, Walliams was said to have offered her his guest room.
She found no spare bed and slept on the sofa. Every night, she said, he would ask her to stay in his bed. “He definitely crossed the line physically in moments, when I was young, trying to coerce me into sleeping with him,” Creightmore explained. “He would plead with me to share a bed with him and paw at me, trying to make me feel sorry for him.”
Her refusal to have sex with Walliams sometimes made him angry, she said, and he was rude to her. “When I was staying with him those first few days, it became apparent that I didn’t feel safe there,” Creightmore said.
Creightmore said she ended up leaving to stay elsewhere. She reportedly stayed in touch with Walliams for five years on-and-off. She said the star offered to help with her career, suggesting he could assist her in getting a BBC job. In 2007, Creightmore said Walliams invited her to Australia when he was on a Little Britain tour.
She reportedly said she would go but that she was not interested in anything sexual or romantic occurring. Creightmore recalled he “hit the roof”, “flinging insults” at her, accusing her of using him. She said she never had sex with Walliams.
Walliams' response
Walliams reportedly said he did not act inappropriately, nor did he “target” her because she was “vulnerable” or “young”. The star reportedly said he believed his friendship with Creightmore was a “special one” and denied that offers of help or gifts were attempts to groom, manipulate or coerce her into sleeping with him. Walliams said he feels “devastated” by Creightmore's account.
