The BBC has removed the 2012 animated film adaptation of Julia Donaldson's children's book Room On The Broom, which featured David Walliams as a frog, amid serious allegations of sexual misconduct against the star, which he denies.
Walliams, a bestselling author and former Britain's Got Talent judge, aged 55, was identified as part of an alleged sexual misconduct probe by The Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday. One woman characterised her alleged interaction with Walliams when she was 15 as "sexual assault", while several women accused him of "grooming" them when they were teenagers. Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
Police Confirm Allegations
On Friday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received multiple non-recent "serious" sex offence allegations against him "in recent days". Earlier in the week, the BBC announced it was conducting a review of "all material" featuring and written by Walliams on its platforms and was in the process of "removing" some.
One such programme to be axed is the animated version of Room On The Broom, in which Walliams voices a frog alongside Gillian Anderson as the witch and Simon Pegg as the narrator. His character has just three lines in the 30-minute film, along with some "ribbits". In one line, his character says: "I am a frog, as clean as can be. Is there room on the broom for a frog like me?"
BBC Statement and Wider Removal
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 shot to fame alongside Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy Little Britain, which ran from 2003 to 2006. The pair then went on to create and star in Come Fly With Me, which hit BBC screens for a single series in 2010. Both programmes are currently unavailable on iPlayer, as is a 2020 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Walliams. Adaptations of his hugely popular children's books, including Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy, have also been pulled from the service.
Other Broadcasters Follow Suit
Other broadcasters have similarly wiped Walliams' content from their streaming platforms. Channel 4 has removed episodes of 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown and the 2021 special Chitty Flies Again featuring Walliams. Sky has likewise stripped Walliams' work from its platform and abandoned distribution of the forthcoming film Fing! based on his 2019 children's book.
In a 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."
Angel Studios confirmed it would still go ahead with releasing the film in the US, however a cameo appearance by Walliams would be cut and he would play no part in its promotion.
