Leilani Dowding, a former Miss Great Britain and Page 3 model, has spoken publicly about her single date with David Walliams, describing the encounter as "awkward" and recalling an unusual compliment he paid her. The 46-year-old, now a conservative commentator on GB News and Good Morning Britain, shared her account in a post on X, clarifying that she never actually dated the Little Britain star.
One Dinner, 22 Years Ago
Dowding, responding to an article that named her as one of Walliams' former girlfriends, wrote: "I did not 'date' David Walliams. We went out ONCE… I have no memory of how we met, or how he had my number, as it was 22 years ago." She added that she would not even remember the year if it were not for the article.
She recounted that Walliams asked her to dinner, but he was "awkward", not flirtatious. During the encounter, he told her: "You look cool. If I was a woman I'd want to dress like you." Dowding described this as "the strangest compliment", noting she was wearing jeans, a satin baseball jacket, and a baseball cap at the time.
No Attraction and a Paparazzi Encounter
Dowding explained that she was not attracted to Walliams because he was "very camp", and she prefers "men who are tough and alpha". She said he did not hit on her, and she assumed he was equally unattracted to her.
The date took a turn when, walking down a road in Primrose Hill, they spotted a paparazzi photographer, which "totally freaked him out". Dowding admitted she had probably mentioned to friends that they were going out. She added that when someone wants to keep something serious, she assumes there is an ulterior motive, like a partner, which was "also a huge turn-off".
After the paparazzi incident, Dowding does not remember if they even had dinner, and she does not think they spoke again. She insisted there was no dating, and they did not even kiss. She stated she has "absolutely no clue about the allegations about him" and described the date as "very uneventful".
Legal Context
Walliams, 55, was recently named as the celebrity who failed to obtain an injunction preventing media outlets from naming him in relation to sexual assault allegations. He 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.
Walliams denies 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. In a statement, he 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." He added: "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."
