A young model has said she was warned by a guest at a celebrity party hosted by David Walliams before an alleged uncomfortable encounter with the comedian. The woman, identified only as Ella, was 19 when she attended a gathering at the former Britain's Got Talent judge's London home.
Warning at the party
Speaking to ITV News, Ella said Walliams, then 36, contacted her after seeing her in a magazine and obtained her number through her modelling agent. After a dinner meeting, he reportedly sent a handwritten card and a large bouquet of roses before inviting her to a party at his Primrose Hill home, known as Supernova Heights.
Ella said: "I had picked up on the fact that these quite high-profile celebrities felt uncomfortable in me and my friend's presence." She added: "And one of the guest's wives did pull me aside at one point, and was like, 'you're very young. Be careful'."
Alleged encounter
Ella alleged that Walliams repeatedly offered to show her around his home before attempting to kiss her when they were alone upstairs. She recalled: "I remember walking into his bedroom with him and feeling him come up really close behind me, and the hairs going up from the back of my neck."
She added: "He lent in for a kiss and I just remember going 'eurgh' and ducking underneath his arm and running away." The model described feeling "vulnerable" and "intimidated", claiming Walliams later placed his head on her lap and repeatedly begged her not to leave.
She said: "And [he] was holding my face and saying, 'please don't leave, please don't leave, please stay with me'. He was begging me to stay." Ella claimed his attitude changed when she and her friend insisted on leaving. She added: "And then something just shifted in him - it was basically, like, get out. And I never heard from him again."
Response and investigation
Looking back, she said: "My overwhelming emotion is relief. I feel like I dodged a bullet, because I know my story fits a certain pattern." Ella described the encounter as "unwanted physical touching and emotional manipulation" and accused Walliams of abusing his celebrity status.
Walliams acknowledged making what he described as a "clumsy pass" at Ella but denied making further approaches or placing his head in her lap, saying he had no intention of intimidating her. The claims form part of a three-year investigation by ITV News and The Guardian into allegations involving teenage girls and young women, which Walliams strongly denies.
Responding to the wider investigation, Walliams said: "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. I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law. I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."
