Police Investigating Children’s Author David Walliams Over Claims
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday it is investigating allegations of past abuse linked to children’s author David Walliams, 55, after a joint media inquiry. He denies breaking any laws. A film company, a streaming service and an Australian bookseller have cut ties.
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday, November 13, it is investigating British children’s author and TV personality David Walliams over serious sex offence allegations, after a joint ITV News and Guardian investigation this week.
Walliams, 55, has denied the allegations. He says he did not break any laws and is not a sexual predator.
What police have said
The Met said it had received several allegations of past abuse. It did not name Walliams, as is customary when someone has not been charged, but said the allegations involved a man in his 50s and related to the ITV and Guardian report.
Police said the allegations made this week differ from those in the news reports. Investigators will still examine the stories for evidence of other crimes.
The force did not say how many complaints it had received, what they involved, or where and when they were said to have happened.
The allegations and his response
One woman said in the reports that Walliams sexually assaulted her at his London home when she was 15. Others accused him of grooming them as teenagers. The reports said he used his fame to groom girls and young women for sex.
The Guardian and ITV said they spoke to more than 100 people during a three-year investigation.
In a letter to ITV and the Guardian, Walliams wrote: “I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.” He added that abusing the power imbalance that comes with fame was “something that I never did”.
Fallout for his work
Walliams co-created and co-starred in the BBC sketch comedy Little Britain, hugely popular in the 2000s. His website says his dozens of children’s titles have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Several books, including Gangsta Granny, were adapted into BBC comedy dramas and stage productions.
Producers of Fing!, an upcoming film based on one of his books, said they had removed his cameo and that he “will have no involvement in the film’s release or promotion”. He is credited as a co-writer. Stan also removed the film from its content slate.
Seven took the 2022 season of Australia’s Got Talent, which featured Walliams as a judge, off its streaming platform. Dymocks chief executive David Allen confirmed all stores were told this week to stop selling Walliams’ books and related merchandise and to remove them from shelves.
Publisher HarperCollins dropped Walliams last year after allegations of inappropriate behaviour, with few details published at the time. The Guardian reported there had been concerns about his behaviour for years, including an allegation of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee.
Walliams was a Britain’s Got Talent judge for a decade. He left in 2022 after apologising for “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.
The reports appeared a day after actor and comedian Russell Brand was sentenced to 10½ years for rape and sexual assault. The two cases prompted wider questions about whether celebrities in the UK get away with sexual misconduct.
