A senior aide to Prime Minister Andy Burnham has alleged that David Walliams invited her to his Britain’s Got Talent dressing room when she was 17.
Abby Tomlinson, the Prime Minister’s deputy director of digital communications, is one of several women to have made allegations of sexual misconduct against the actor and comedian.
She says Walliams sent her an unsolicited message inviting her to a Britain’s Got Talent live show in 2015, when he was serving as a judge on the programme.
Ms Tomlinson says she attended with a 13-year-old girl. On arrival, they were taken to Walliams’ dressing room, where two other girls, aged 16 and 17, were already waiting.
According to Ms Tomlinson, the girls were left alone with Walliams without another adult present. ‘The door was shut and we were alone with him,’ she told The Guardian.
‘He’s the sort of person who obviously had a lot of access to young women and teenage girls.’
Walliams’ lawyers say the account is misleading. The Little Britain actor failed in a High Court attempt to prevent ITV News and The Guardian from publishing the allegations as part of their joint investigation.
Ms Tomlinson had previously raised concerns about Walliams on social media in 2020.
She wrote: ‘Just thinking about how a certain national treasure comedian invited me to meet him when I was 17, started liking my Instagrams when I turned 18, then DM’d me “looking good x” when I was 19.’
Abby Tomlinson, a senior aide to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, alleges that David Walliams invited her to his Britain’s Got Talent dressing room when she was 17
Ms Tomlinson serves as the Prime Minister’s deputy director of digital communications
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman described the allegations as ‘deeply troubling’, while the Labour Party suspended Walliams’ membership.
Walliams was also accused of using his status to pursue ‘inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities’ with ‘a large number’ of women and girls.
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One complainant, identified by ITV News and The Guardian as Jade, alleges that Walliams sexually assaulted her when she was 15 after contacting her online.
Jade says they met in Soho before Walliams drove her to his home in an Aston Martin. She alleges that the assault took place at Supernova Heights, the mansion he purchased from Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher.
‘He asked me to come over and gave me a hug. That’s when he kissed me,’ Jade alleged of Walliams, who was 36 at the time.
‘He lifted my top up and sucked on my breast and then tried to put my hand down his trousers. That’s when I pulled away and said, “No”. He had an erection at the time,’ she said.
‘I wasn’t ready for sex. I didn’t want to do that, with him or with anyone. I didn’t want to be touched in that way at all. I mean, I was only 15.’
She said she had told him that she had previously been sexually abused by someone else as a child, to which she alleges he replied: ‘Sorry to hear that.’
Jade said she regarded what she alleges happened as ‘sexual assault’ and ‘grooming’, adding: ‘It’s completely wrong in every way.’
Another woman, identified only as Alex, alleges that Walliams began contacting her when she was 15 and preparing for her mock GCSE examinations. She says they first met at a Little Britain fan event, where he was dressed as his character Lou.
Their meeting was recorded on camera. Alex says they began a sexual relationship about two years later, when she was 17.
Asked how she now feels about Walliams, she said: ‘I want to vomit. I hate him. My body reacts when I think about it. It’s like a trauma response. I think I was groomed. 100 per cent.’
Walliams, 55, a former Britain’s Got Talent judge, launched a High Court bid to stop the media from reporting the allegations, triggering intense online speculation about the identity of the person involved.
A judge rejected his claim last week, and Walliams did not appeal before Monday’s 4.30pm deadline. ITV and The Guardian identified him at midday on Tuesday.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing.