London's Metropolitan Police is investigating David Walliams for serious sexual offenses after ITV News and The Guardian reported allegations of grooming and sexual assault. Walliams denies the allegations.
London's Metropolitan Police said it is investigating children's author and TV personality David Walliams for serious sexual offenses after news outlets reported allegations of misconduct.
The Metropolitan Police said it had received a number of allegations of past abuse following a joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian newspaper. The police said the allegations they are investigating are different from those reported by the news outlets, but they will look into the news stories for evidence of other crimes.
One woman said in the reports that she was sexually assaulted by Walliams at his London home when she was 15, while others accused him of grooming them when they were teens. The Guardian and ITV said they spoke to more than 100 people during a three-year investigation.
Walliams, 55, has denied the allegations, saying he had not broken any laws and was not a sexual predator.
"I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me," Walliams said in writing to ITV and the Guardian. "Whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did."
Walliams had sought a court injunction to prevent the news outlets from identifying him, but a judge rejected the application, saying such a legal measure would be "an exceptionally serious interference" with the media's rights.
Walliams is best known as the co-creator and co-star in "Little Britain," a hugely popular TV comedy sketch show in the 2000s, and as a children's book author with some 40 published titles that sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, according to his website.
Producers of "Fing!" — an upcoming film based on Walliams' book — said in a statement Tuesday that they had removed his cameo appearance and that Walliams "will have no involvement in the film's release or promotion." He is credited as a co-writer. U.K. distributor Sky told Variety it was dropping the movie.
Walliams was dropped last year by publisher HarperCollins after allegations were made of inappropriate behavior. He was also a judge for a decade on "Britain's Got Talent," though he stepped down in 2022 after apologizing for making "disrespectful comments" about auditioning contestants.
The investigation follows the sentencing of comedian Russell Brand to 10½ years in prison for rape and sexual assault. The two stories have drawn comparisons and caused wider discussion over celebrities and sexual misconduct in the U.K.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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