LONDON — David Walliams, the British comedian and best-selling children’s author, has been accused of grooming teenage girls and harassing women in the workplace after a three-year investigation by The Guardian and ITN was published this week. The 55-year-old former Britain’s Got Talent judge had sought a High Court injunction to block the allegations, with his lawyers arguing he would likely kill himself if the claims became public. The court refused the request.
The investigation alleges Walliams preyed on girls as young as 15 and young women for sexual purposes. Walliams has denied all of the allegations. In a letter to journalists working on the probe, he acknowledged that “at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with,” adding: “I am not a sexual predator. 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.”
Walliams became a household name in the early 2000s through Little Britain, the BBC sketch comedy he created with Matt Lucas. He later built a parallel career as a children’s author, publishing The Boy in the Dress in 2008. His stories drew comparisons to Roald Dahl, and his 23 books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.
The fallout has already reached his publishing career. HarperCollins dropped Walliams in 2025 following separate allegations of inappropriate behaviour, which he also denied. The revelations raise fresh questions about the entertainment industry’s treatment of young fans and the power held by prominent television personalities.
Representatives for Walliams have not issued further comment beyond his letter. The allegations are likely to shadow the comedian’s legacy in Oregon and beyond, where his books remain widely stocked in schools and libraries.
