David Walliams accused of grooming teenagers after failed attempt to block publication

The allegations and Walliams' response

British comedian and children's author David Walliams has been accused of grooming teenage girls and using his fame to pursue relationships with young women. The report was published on 10 November following a three-year joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News, which gathered testimony from 30 sources with direct knowledge of the situation, as well as correspondence, photographs and records from the time. Walliams himself, 55, denies any wrongdoing: according to him, he did not engage in grooming, did not commit sexual offences and did not abuse his fame or professional influence. In a statement, he admitted that in fleeting relationships he had sometimes behaved 'thoughtlessly', but said: 'I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law.'

The testimony of Jade and Alex

Two women, speaking under the pseudonyms Jade and Alex, say they first encountered Walliams at the age of 15. Jade said that in 2007 he wrote to her via MySpace, where her age was visible, and that the then 36-year-old comedian invited her to London, took her to his home and began sexual contact, stopping after her objection. She considers what happened sexual assault and grooming. Walliams' lawyers stated that there was no sexual contact with Jade and that the grooming and criminal allegations are false. Alex met him in 2004 at a Little Britain fan event and gave him her scripts; according to her account, the correspondence became sexual when she was 17, and they later had consensual sex — she now believes she was 'groomed', given the age gap and his influence over her career. The defence argues that he initially supported her writing, believed she was 18 and did not know she was a minor.

Claims from the workplace

The investigation also presents claims related to the show Britain's Got Talent, where Walliams was a judge from 2012 to 2022: former staff say he sent personal messages to younger female production staff and made inappropriate remarks, while other sources spoke of young fans being invited to his dressing room. Walliams denies workplace harassment; producers Fremantle and Syco said they had received no complaints about him, and ITV said it was unaware of these claims. Similar concerns arose at the publisher HarperCollins: in December 2025 it stopped commissioning new books from him, and in September 2026 it severed ties entirely, declining to republish his back catalogue. According to BBC News, citing The Daily Telegraph, an internal investigation at the publisher began after a complaint from a junior employee, and staff were advised to meet Walliams only in pairs and not to visit his home; his representative denied all of this.

The legal battle over publication

Publication became possible after the High Court on 3 November rejected Walliams' request to block the material, and he did not file an appeal before Monday's deadline. His lawyers argued that publishing the allegations posed a serious risk to his life, reporting that after contact with journalists he had twice attempted suicide and was undergoing inpatient psychiatric treatment. Judge Mathew Nicklin acknowledged the claimant's serious mental vulnerability and that publication could significantly increase the risk of self-harm, but found that an injunction could remain in force indefinitely and would constitute an exceptionally severe restriction on freedom of expression. The judge separately stressed that the court had not assessed the truth of the allegations and that refusing the injunction did not amount to approval of future publications.

Career context

Walliams rose to fame through the sketch show Little Britain with Matt Lucas, which won three BAFTAs and two Emmys, and later through children's books that have sold more than 50 million copies. BBC News also recalls earlier scandals: in 2022 he was replaced on the Britain's Got Talent judging panel after a recording leaked in which he made insulting remarks about the show's contestants (he apologised and reached an 'amicable settlement' of the lawsuit with the producers), and in 2025 it was reported that he had made two Nazi salutes during the recording of a Christmas special of Would I Lie to You? — the production company apologised, while Walliams himself did not comment on the incident. Russian outlets also took note of the story: Gazeta.Ru reported on the allegations, citing The Guardian, and on the court's rejection of the request for anonymity.