Sky has dropped David Walliams' film Fing! following "extremely serious" allegations made against the author and former Britain's Got Talent judge.
Walliams, 55, was named as part of a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday, after he attempted to secure an injunction to block the reporting of the allegations. One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a "sexual assault", while several other women accused him of "grooming" them during their teenage years. Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
Sky exits Fing! licence
A film adaptation of Fing!, first published in 2019, was due to be distributed by Sky across the UK and Ireland in early 2027, but it has now been shelved. In an official statement, a Sky spokesperson said: "The allegations made against David Walliams are extremely serious. We have notified the producers of the film of our intention to exit our position as the UK and Ireland licensee of Fing! We have already removed content which features him from our platforms."
Directed by Jeffrey Walker and shot in Australia, the film features a cast including Taika Waititi, Blake Harrison and Mia Wasikowska, with Matt Lucas voicing the title character.
US and Australia releases proceed
Angel Studios confirmed it will proceed with releasing the film in the US, though a cameo featuring Walliams will be cut and he will play no part in its promotion. In a statement issued to Variety, Angel Studios said: "We take the allegations reported regarding David Walliams seriously. Our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected. We have removed his cameo appearance from Fing!, and he will have no involvement in the film's release or promotion."
Fing! will also retain its January 14 release date in Australia, however local distributor Transmission Films confirmed to ABC that Walliams will play no part in the promotional campaign. Local streaming platform Stan had been scheduled to make the film available to its subscribers, but told ABC: "In light of the recent and serious allegations against David Walliams, Stan has removed Fing! from its content slate."
Walliams dropped by agent and BBC
Since Walliams was named in the ITV News and The Guardian investigation, he has been dropped by his literary agent, while the BBC announced it was "in the process of removing" programmes including Little Britain.
In a letter believed to have been dispatched several months prior by Walliams to journalists working on the ITV News and Guardian investigations, he 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."
