The BBC has said it is removing some programmes featuring David Walliams, including Little Britain, from BBC iPlayer after "serious allegations" were made about the former Britain's Got Talent judge.
Walliams was named as part of an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday (November 10), after he tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of allegations against him.
Allegations of grooming and sexual assault
In the investigation, multiple women have accused Walliams of sexual misconduct, with the TV star and author accused of abusing his power to groom teenagers as young as 15. One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a "sexual assault". Multiple women accuse him of "grooming" them when they were teenagers. Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
BBC statement and review
The BBC has so far only mentioned that Little Britain will be axed, but it is believed more content featuring Walliams will be removed from BBC iPlayer. A BBC spokesperson said: "These are serious allegations. As such, the BBC is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms. We are in the process of removing some programmes, including Little Britain, whilst this review is under way."
Walliams responds
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, 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. 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."
