David Walliams has been named as the previously unidentified man who attempted to secure an injunction to block the reporting of allegations against him, which were published on Tuesday, October 10.
The 55-year-old comedian and author brought legal action against Independent Television News (ITN) and Guardian News and Media (GNM), publisher of The Guardian, ahead of the two organisations reporting allegations against him, including of sexual misconduct and potential criminal activity.
Allegations and Legal Action
Lawyers for the media organisations previously told the High Court in London that the allegations involved Walliams' alleged "abuse of power and status" to contact young women and try to engage in "inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities". Walliams denied the claims and unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prevent these publications because of the risk he would take his own life, after two previous suicide attempts.
The author was granted anonymity during the proceedings, which was lifted after his injunction bid was dismissed and GNM and ITN published their investigations on Tuesday.
Three-Year Investigation
The three-year joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian reported a number of allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2003. One woman alleged Walliams began contacting her when she was 15 after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event, before starting a sexual relationship with her at the age of 17, ITV News reported.
Walliams came to prominence as co-star of comedy sketch programme Little Britain, and developed a reputation as a ladies' man, romantically linked with a number of high-profile women in the 2000s. ITV News noted that jokes about his sex life were being made at the height of the show's fame.
2004 Comedy Awards Joke
The news organisations highlighted that at the 2004 British Comedy Awards, TV chat show host Jonathan Ross opened the show with a joke about Walliams.
"The comedy awards is 15 years old – 15 years old! And like most 15-year-olds, it's drunk, it's unpredictable and it's probably going home with David Walliams."
Walliams appears to chuckle and throw up two fingers in Mr Ross' direction in response. Mr Ross was approached by The Guardian and said in a response through lawyers that he didn't write the joke himself.
Walliams' Response
Walliams has denied abusing his power as a celebrity in relationships with women but said he realised he had "behaved thoughtlessly".
In a statement to the Guardian and ITV News, the comedian 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."
