Police have opened a criminal investigation into “a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences” involving David Walliams.
The entertainer is facing claims that he used his celebrity status to groom teenage girls and pursue young women.
The Metropolitan Police said the allegations are separate from those previously reported by ITN and The Guardian.
Walliams, 55, has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, pursuing another teenager while she was preparing for her GCSE mock exams, and sexually harassing several other young women.
The comedian denies the allegations. During a High Court dispute with media organisations, he tried to prevent the claims from being published and reportedly threatened to take his own life if the women’s accounts became public.
His application for an injunction was rejected by a judge, clearing the way for The Guardian and ITV News to publish an investigation on Tuesday outlining the allegations.
Since that report was released, more women have come forward with claims of criminal behaviour, leading Scotland Yard to begin a formal investigation.
The force said in a statement: “In recent days, the Met has received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s.
“Those who have come forward are being supported by specialist officers.
David Walliams was accused of sexual misconduct and abusing his power to groom teenagers
Walliams is pictured at the 2004 Comedy Awards where Little Britain won the top prize
“The allegations are separate from those reported by ITN and The Guardian. However, as part of their investigation, detectives are also proactively reviewing that reporting to establish whether there is any evidence of offences.”
The force is understood not to have received any reports before these latest allegations were made.
Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney, who is overseeing the inquiry, said: “We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened.
“We understand that reporting allegations of this nature can be daunting. Specialist officers are available to offer support, answer questions and explain the process.”
Walliams, the millionaire star of Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, was also once celebrated as a children’s author and described as the “new Roald Dahl”. He has rejected claims that he targeted young women.
Although he has admitted behaving “thoughtlessly” on occasion, he said: “I am not a sexual predator.”
A woman identified as Jade said she was 15 in 2007 when Walliams, then a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, allegedly molested her.
She said he contacted her through MySpace, the social networking site that predated Facebook, and asked for her telephone number. Their conversations reportedly covered where she lived and what she was studying at school.
According to Jade, they met in Soho, where Walliams, then 36, bought her coffee before taking her into an alley and kissing her.
She alleged that he then drove her in his Aston Martin to his home, Supernova Heights in Primrose Hill, the former residence of Oasis musician Noel Gallagher. There, she claimed, he lifted her top, sucked her breast and tried to put her hand inside his trousers.
She said: “That’s when I pulled away and said no. I was only 15. It’s a sexual assault. It’s grooming. It’s completely wrong in every way.”
Walliams’ lawyers said he had never groomed young women and denied that he had any sexual contact with Jade.
They have previously described the allegations as untrue.
Another woman, known as Alex, alleged that Walliams groomed her when she was 15 and studying for her GCSE mock examinations after she met him at a Little Britain fan event.
David Walliams arrives for Britain’s Got Talent auditions in London in January 2022
Alex’s mother took a photograph as her daughter handed Walliams some comedy sketches she had written. A few days later, Alex said, he called her and introduced himself by saying: “Hi, it’s David Walliams. You know, off the telly.”
Their conversations allegedly included discussions about her school, exams and her upcoming 16th birthday.
Walliams offered writing advice and reportedly said he could arrange work experience for her in television.
Alex said they had consensual sex in 2005, when she was 17, but described the encounter as “very… pushy”. She added: “I felt like a prostitute, essentially. I think I was groomed, 100 per cent.”
Walliams’ lawyers said he believed Alex was 18 at the time. They said he was “mortified to learn” that their “brief, consensual relationship has caused her sadness”.
Abby Tomlinson, now a senior aide to Andy Burnham in Downing Street, is also among those to have spoken publicly.
Tomlinson said she was a 17-year-old Britain’s Got Talent fan in 2015 when she entered Walliams’ dressing room alongside girls aged 13, 16 and 17. She claimed there was no other adult present.
She told The Guardian: “The door was shut and we were alone with him.”
Lawyers representing Walliams said her account was misleading.
Sarah, another Britain’s Got Talent fan, claimed she was invited to Walliams’ home when she was 18. She alleged that he made her drunk, stroked her leg and then tried to take her to a bedroom.
Lilly Creightmore, a former model, alleged that Walliams repeatedly pressured her for sex when she was 18 in 2003.
The High Court was told that Walliams was detained under the Mental Health Act for his own protection on October 22.
He is still receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital.