David Walliams: Popular comedian and TV judge who faces misconduct claims

Actor, comedian and writer David Walliams became a popular TV personality as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent and a series of comedy shows, but now faces allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming against multiple women.

The 55-year-old rose to fame writing and starring in BBC sketch show Little Britain with Matt Lucas.

The show first aired in 2003 and was known for its controversial sense of humour, running for three series until 2006, with a number of specials following.

During a stage show of Little Britain in 2006, Walliams was known to perform an act called Hide The Sausage, where he performed as a former children’s entertainer and sex offender named Des Kaye, which saw him touch and pull down the trousers of audience members and attempt to kiss them.

The pair also wrote Little Britain USA, which aired in 2008, and would go on to write BBC airport mockumentary Come Fly With Me, a play on documentaries such as Airport and Airline, which aired in 2010 and featured a similar style of comedy to Little Britain.

In 2020, Little Britain was pulled from various UK streaming services due to its use of blackface.

The show was also criticised for its portrayal of black women by white men.

Walliams sported black make-up and a large afro wig to play the overweight black woman Desiree DeVere.

Lucas also used blackface to play Pastor Jesse King, who said he was “from the ghetto” and spoke in tongues to cure the sick.

Some of the show’s controversial characters cut when the BBC reuploaded it two years later.

Come Fly With Me, in which Lucas wore dark make-up to play Jamaican woman Precious and ground crew employee Taaj, who was of Pakistani descent, was also similarly edited.

Both Walliams and Lucas apologised for their use of blackface in the shows, calling it “wrong” in 2020, with Lucas also describing the comedy in the series as “cruel”.

Walliams, who was born in Wimbledon, London, served as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) for a decade, joining in 2012 and departing in 2022, when he was found to have made sexually explicit and derogatory remarks towards some of the contestants.

In 2023, BGT producer Fremantle apologised and reached an “amicable resolution” with Walliams after the remarks he made while on the show were leaked, and Walliams apologised for “disrespectful comments”.

When issuing an apology, Walliams said: “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.

“These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”

It came after Walliams filed a lawsuit alleging that the release of a recording of him making the comments breached data protection regulations.

The lawsuit also accused the company of causing him psychiatric harm and financial loss.

Walliams also had a hugely successful career as a children’s book author, releasing his debut novel The Boy in the Dress, which was illustrated by Quentin Blake in 2008, and he went on to release more than 40 books.

His novels included Gangsta Granny, which was turned into a one-hour BBC special in 2013, followed by a sequel starring Sheridan Smith in 2022 and was adapted for the stage.

In 2018, Walliams’ books constituted 44% of all sales of HarperCollins children’s titles, which generated revenue of £100 million by the following year.

In December 2025, Walliams was dropped by the publisher which said “after careful consideration” it would not be publishing any new titles from the award-winning children’s author.

The decision to drop him was made following a Telegraph investigation into allegations he had “harassed” young women.

At the time, a statement from HarperCollins said: “After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision.

“HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. To respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on internal matters.”

However, a spokesperson for Walliams said he had “never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins”.

Walliams representatives added: “He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.”

Shortly after being dropped by HarperCollins, Walliams was also dropped from his appearance at the Waterstones Children’s Book Festival in Dundee.

In 2025, it was also reported that he had made Nazi salutes while recording BBC panel show Would I Lie To You?.

Theme park Alton Towers permanently closed its World Of David Walliams attraction last week.

The attraction focused on his children’s books, with attractions including Gangsta Granny: The Ride, Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp and The Royal Carousel – as well as Raj’s Shop and The Burger Kitchen

Born in 1971 as David Edward Williams, Walliams grew up in Banstead, Surrey and attended Collingwood Boys’ School and Reigate Grammar School.

It was during his summer holidays at the University of Bristol where he performed with the National Youth Theatre and met future comedy partner Lucas.

During this time he also changed his surname to Walliams after joining college Equity, as there was already a member with the same name.

In the career that followed, Walliams would go on to appear in episodes of The Bill, EastEnders, Doctor Who, Teletubbies and Australia’s Got Talent.

He won the award for best TV judge at the 2015, 2018 and 2019 National Television Awards.

Further accolades won by Walliams include a Pride of Britain Award in 2006 for most influential public figure after raising £1.5 million for Sport Relief by swimming the English Channel.

In 2017, he was appointed an OBE for services to charity and the arts.

Walliams was previously married to Dutch model Lara Stone – 12 years his junior – from 2010 until 2015. They had one child together – son Alfred, who was born in 2013.