David Walliams’ career suffered a dramatic collapse this week, but the controversy surrounding the comedian began in 2022 with a scandal involving Britain’s Got Talent.
The 55-year-old was identified this week as the celebrity who sought a court order to suppress allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl and preyed on several teenage girls while allegedly abusing his position to exploit them.
Walliams denies any criminal wrongdoing and insists that he is “not a sexual predator”.
The repercussions were swift. Literary agency Independent Talent dropped the author from its roster, the BBC began removing his programmes from iPlayer and Sky ended its collaborations with him. The broadcaster also confirmed it would not distribute a film adaptation of his 2019 novel Fing!.
Four years ago, Walliams had already spent a decade as a judge on ITV’s prime-time family show Britain’s Got Talent. During that period, he won the National Television Award for best TV judge four times, while his books sold 40 million copies worldwide.
But in November 2022, he stepped away from the high-profile role after recordings of derogatory and sexually explicit remarks about contestants were obtained and published by The Guardian.
The remarks were made during breaks in filming at the London Palladium auditions in 2020. In one recording, Walliams referred to an elderly contestant as a “c***” three times after she left the stage.
David Walliams’ career suffered a dramatic collapse this week, but the controversy surrounding the comedian began with a 2022 Britain’s Got Talent scandal
He also described another woman as “like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t”.
Walliams apologised, saying: “These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”
He later sued the programme’s producer, Fremantle, alleging misuse of private information and breaches of data protection law.
The former Little Britain star reportedly claimed in court documents that producers had “recorded, transcribed and retained” his conversations throughout his decade on the show. He said he had not realised that his microphone had been “kept on and recording” for the entire filming day.
Walliams alleged that about 1,700 hours of audio had been collected. He also said he had suffered severe depression since leaving the show and experienced “active suicidal thoughts”.
The legal dispute ended in an “amicable resolution”, with the production company apologising for the recordings becoming public.
The scandal marked the start of Walliams’ professional downfall.
Piers Morgan, who served as a Britain’s Got Talent judge from 2007 to 2010 and has a long-running public feud with Walliams, called the comedian “one of the nastiest frauds in TV” in a tweet responding to the reports.
Walliams pictured with his Britain’s Got Talent co-stars, from left, Ant McPartlin, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Declan Donnelly
Morgan also claimed, without providing evidence, that the recordings represented only the “tip of the iceberg” of Walliams’ alleged behaviour.
Simon Cowell, the show’s creator and head judge, also distanced himself from Walliams. Sources said Cowell feared his former co-star was “not a good person”.
It has since emerged that around the time Walliams left Britain’s Got Talent in November 2022, The Guardian first approached him about allegations of inappropriate conduct. The claims were denied and no story was published.
In May 2023, The Guardian and ITV News agreed to work together on an investigation into Walliams.
That year, Cally Poplak, who had recently become HarperCollins’ head of children’s books, also launched an inquiry into his conduct after concerns were raised by members of staff.
At least five female employees reportedly provided evidence during the investigation. It concluded in 2024 without consequences for Walliams. However, one employee who contributed to the inquiry was reportedly paid a five-figure settlement before leaving the company.
HarperCollins did not drop the author until December 2025, when it announced, following a change of chief executive, that it would no longer handle new Walliams releases.
Walliams left his Britain’s Got Talent judging role in November 2022 after recordings of derogatory and sexually explicit comments about contestants were leaked
The Daily Telegraph reported that HarperCollins had opened an internal investigation the previous year after a junior employee complained about Walliams’ behaviour.
The inquiry reportedly found that employees had been instructed to meet Walliams in pairs and advised not to visit his home.
Walliams’ spokesman said he “strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately” and had “never been informed of any allegations raised against him” by the publisher.
In September 2026, HarperCollins said it would no longer represent Walliams’ back catalogue. As a result, his books would not be restocked once existing shop supplies were exhausted.
On Tuesday, a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian published a series of allegations dating back to 2003, with some accusers said to have been as young as 15. Walliams denies all the allegations.
A High Court judge had previously rejected Walliams’ attempt to block publication of the allegations, although he was granted permission to appeal and his identity was temporarily protected.
However, the comedian and author missed a 4.30pm deadline on Monday to take his case to the Court of Appeal, allowing him to be named.
The allegations were published by ITV News and The Guardian the following day.
In a statement to both outlets, 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.”