The key facts
- The Metropolitan Police is investigating allegations of serious sexual offences against Walliams; he has not been arrested
- The investigation is based on complaints separate from the ITV News and The Guardian publications, but police are also examining those reports
- Walliams stated: 'I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law'; after the publications, the BBC, HarperCollins and his literary agency cut ties with him
What is known about the investigation
The Metropolitan Police has announced the opening of an investigation into David Walliams following a series of allegations of 'non-recent serious sexual offences' involving a man now in his 50s. The police do not name the individual in line with their policy; according to The Guardian, Walliams has not been arrested. Details of the alleged offences, including locations and dates, are not being disclosed to protect the identities of the complainants, who have the right to lifelong anonymity. According to the newspaper, some of the allegations relate to the 2000s, and at least some complainants contacted the police this week. The investigation is being led by the complex sexual offences unit under Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Cagney, who urged victims of sexual offences to come forward regardless of when the events occurred.
Connection with media publications
The investigation began after the release of a joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian, in which several women accused Walliams of sexual harassment over more than 20 years; the outlets also released a one-hour documentary, 'David Walliams: Power and Silence'. The police stressed that the allegations they are investigating are separate from those published by the media, but detectives are 'proactively reviewing these reports to establish whether there is evidence of criminal offences'. In the media investigation, two women said they met Walliams when they were 15 and believe he 'groomed' them; one of them now characterises an alleged meeting at 15 as 'sexual assault'. Walliams firmly denied any sexual contact with that girl. The publications also concerned his behaviour on the show Britain's Got Talent, where he was a judge, and his relations with junior employees at the publisher HarperCollins. The materials were published after Walliams lost a legal attempt to block their publication.
Walliams' response and consequences
In a letter to the journalists who prepared the investigation, Walliams wrote that he 'sometimes behaved thoughtlessly' towards people with whom he had casual relationships and regrets this, but stated: 'I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law', adding that 'abuse of power is something different, and I have never done that'. Neither Walliams nor his lawyer responded to requests about the new police investigation. The consequences for his career have already followed: the BBC removed content featuring him, including the show 'Little Britain', from its platforms, HarperCollins UK ended its collaboration with him last year after a report by The Telegraph, and after the ITV and The Guardian publications his literary agency dropped him, and the Labour Party suspended his membership, according to The Guardian. The events come against the backdrop of a wider crisis in the British entertainment industry: earlier this week Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison for rape and assault, and in 2024 allegations of sexual abuse (which he denies) were made against the writer Neil Gaiman. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the media industry must examine whether it is doing enough to protect women and girls, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is expected to meet industry executives next week and warn of possible government intervention if whistleblowers on harassment are not protected.
Image source, Getty Images 
