British comedian and children's author David Walliams accused of sexual
misconduct
[November 11, 2026]
By SYLVIA HUI and BRIAN MELLEY
LONDON (AP) — British children’s author and comedian David Walliams used
his fame to groom girls and young women for sex, two British news
outlets reported on Tuesday.
ITV News and the Guardian newspaper said their joint investigation
featured interviews with multiple women who gave firsthand accounts of
Walliams' conduct. One woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by
Walliams at his London home when she was 15, while others accused him of
grooming them when they were teens.
Walliams, 55, denied the allegations. He unsuccessfully sought a court
injunction to bar the news outlets from identifying him, claiming that
publication of sexual misconduct allegations would lead him to take his
own life.
The court fight delayed publication for months, but a judge rejected his
injunction request last week and the protection of his identity expired
late Monday.
“I am not a sexual predator,” Walliams said in a letter to the news
organizations. “I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some
of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger
towards me.”
“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,” he added.
Walliams is best known for comedy sketches on “Little Britain,” a hugely
popular British TV show in the 2000s, but he’s also a celebrated
children’s book author with some 40 published titles that sold more than
60 million copies worldwide, according to his website.
Several of them, including “Gangsta Granny,” have been adapted into BBC
comedy dramas and stage productions. Producers of “Fing!” — an upcoming
film based on Walliams' book — said in a statement Tuesday that they had
removed his cameo appearance and that Walliams “will have no involvement
in the film’s release or promotion.” He is credited as a co-writer. U.K.
distributor Sky told Variety it was dropping the movie. Angel Studios,
the U.S. distributor, did not answer The Associated Press' emailed query
about its plans for the film.
Walliams was dropped last year by publisher HarperCollins after
allegations were made of inappropriate behavior. Few details were
published at the time, but the Guardian reported Tuesday that there were
concerns about his behavior for years, including an allegation that he
had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee.
He was also a judge for a decade on “Britain’s Got Talent,” though he
stepped down in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful
comments” about auditioning contestants.
The BBC said Tuesday it was removing some programs, including “Little
Britain,” while it carried out a review of “all material featuring and
written by David Walliams on our platforms."
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David Walliams poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere
of the film "The Choral " during the London film festival in London,
on Oct. 12, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
 The literary agency Independent
Talent Group also said it was dropping Walliams following the new
allegations.
The court fight, in which Walliams was identified in news reports as
a “famous man,” drew widespread attention in Britain because it
highlighted questions over public figures’ right to privacy and what
media can report on the basis of public interest.
Walliams’ lawyer, Sara Mansoori, told the High Court that he had
made a suicide attempt when he received letters from ITN and
Guardian News and Media seeking his response to the allegations. He
later made another attempt, she said, and he was recently admitted
to the hospital for psychiatric care.
Attorney Gavin Millar, representing the media companies, has said
that the allegations were gathered after “a wide-ranging and
rigorous investigation” and that there was a strong public interest
in publishing them.
Millar told the court that the investigation involved speaking to
more than 100 people, and alleged that over a period of years
Walliams “used his status and influence as a well-known public
figure to establish contact with young women, some considerably
younger than him, and that he engaged or sought to engage in
seriously inappropriate conduct,” according to a summary of the
court judgment.
Some of the alleged conduct could amount to criminal offenses if
proven, a summary of the court judgment said.
The Metropolitan Police in London contacted the news organizations
Tuesday to make sure any possible victims knew how to report
criminal allegations.
In dismissing the injunction bid, Justice Matthew Nicklin said such
a legal measure would mean “an exceptionally serious interference”
with the rights of the media companies.
He noted that Walliams had a “serious and longstanding psychiatric
vulnerability” which must be taken seriously, and said a decision
allowing the allegations to be published will substantially increase
his risk of suicide. However, he added that the evidence did not
“establish that suicide is inevitable.”
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