David Walliams has said he is "not a sexual predator" after being named as the famous man who tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of allegations against him. The 55-year-old 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 including sexual misconduct and potential criminal activity.
Allegations from multiple women
According to the joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News, multiple women have accused the TV star and comedian of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming, including when they were teenagers. 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 the publications because of the risk he would take his own life, after two previous suicide attempts. He was granted anonymity during the proceedings, which was lifted after his injunction bid was dismissed and GNM and ITN published their investigations on Tuesday (November 10).
Investigation details
The three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian revealed a number of allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2003. They include one woman who described her encounter with Walliams when she was aged 15 as "sexual assault". Multiple other women have accused the TV personality of "grooming" them when they were teenagers, according to the investigation.
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 is also accused of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at Britain's Got Talent and at the publisher HarperCollins. According to the report, Walliams has denied any wrongdoing.
Walliams' response
In response to the 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."
The former Britain's Got Talent judge, known for appearing in comedy shows including Come Fly With Me and Little Britain alongside Matt Lucas, has sold more than 60 million copies of his children's books globally. They include The Boy In The Dress, Fing, and Gangsta Granny, the latter of which was turned into a one-hour BBC special in 2013, followed by a sequel starring Sheridan Smith in 2022.
Professional fallout
Walliams' book publisher HarperCollins dropped him in December 2025, after an investigation into allegations he had "harassed" young women, which Walliams strongly denied. Earlier this month, theme park Alton Towers permanently closed its World Of David Walliams attraction, which featured rides inspired by the books.
Walliams left Britain's Got Talent in 2022 after he apologised for making "disrespectful comments" about auditioning contestants during filming breaks in January 2020 at the London Palladium. In 2023, Britain's Got Talent producer Fremantle apologised and reached an "amicable resolution" with Walliams after the remarks he made while on the show were leaked.
