David Walliams was today unmasked as the celebrity who fought for a court order to suppress allegations that he preyed on teenage girls as young as 15.
Walliams, one of the world’s best-selling children’s authors, sought a High Court injunction to prevent publication of the claims, using the ‘unprecedented’ argument that he would take his own life if the allegations became public.
The TV star and author is accused of ‘abusing his status’ to engage in ‘inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities’ with ‘a large number’ of women and girls.
One accuser, named as Jade by ITV News and The Guardian, alleges she was sexually assaulted by Walliams when she was 15 after he contacted her online. Jade claimed they met in Soho before he drove her to his home in his Aston Martin.
‘He asked me to come over and gave me a hug. That’s when he kissed me again,’ Jade alleged of Walliams, who was 36 at the time.
‘He lifted my top up and sucked on my breast and then tried to put my hand down his trousers. That’s when I pulled away and said ‘no’. He had an erection at the time,’ she said.
‘I wasn’t ready for sex. I didn’t want to do that, with him or with anyone. I didn’t want to be touched in that way at all. I mean, I was only a 15-year-old.’
She claimed she had confided in him that she had been sexually abused as a child by someone else, and he told her: ‘Sorry to hear that.’ Jade said she considers what she says happened to her there to have been ‘sexual assault’ and ‘grooming’, adding: ‘It’s completely wrong in every way.’
Former Britain’s Got Talent judge Walliams, 55, launched a High Court bid to stop the media reporting the allegations. It led to fevered speculation online about who it was.
However, a judge dismissed his claim last week and Walliams did not lodge an appeal before the 4.30pm deadline on Monday. ITV and The Guardian named him at midday on Tuesday.
Multiple women have accused Walliams of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming, including when they were teenagers.
Another woman, named only as Alex, claims Walliams began contacting her when she was 15 and studying for her mock GCSEs, after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event. Walliams was dressed as his character Lou with Matt Lucas there as Andy.
The moment they met was captured on camera by her mother. They began a sexual relationship when was 17.
Walliams has today vehemently denied abusing his position as a celebrity in relationships with women, but acknowledged that he had at times ‘behaved thoughtlessly’.
In a statement to ITV News and The Guardian, the comedian said: ‘Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with. I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret.
‘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.
‘I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law. I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.’
Children’s author and TV star David Walliams is accused of abusing his status to target girls and young women. He denies the claims
It comes 11 months after publisher HarperCollins dropped millionaire Walliams following allegations that he had harassed female junior employees.
Jade alleged she was 15 when Walliams contacted her on MySpace in 2007, at the height of his Little Britain fame.
She said she commented on a photo of him and that he quickly sent her a private message.
‘You get this celebrity approaching you. That’s a whole different level of attention,’ she said.
‘Then you think, I must be a bit special, in a way.’
She claimed they met in Soho in August 2007.
‘I was very, very shy,’ Jade said.
‘I was quite quiet, so it was mostly him asking questions. We talked a bit about school, but it wasn’t long before he asked me if I’d ever had sex. I said I hadn’t. I didn’t like talking about that sort of thing.’
Jade alleged that Walliams then took her into an ‘alleyway’ as they said goodbye.
‘He sort of edged into the corner where we couldn’t be seen and that’s when he kissed me,’ she said.
‘His tongue was used. I don’t want to use the word aggressive, but he was quite… excited.’
She alleged that she later went to his home, where she was sexually assaulted.
‘I think I was still naive about what he wanted to happen. I didn’t think he would want sex, especially that quickly,’ she said.
Another woman, named by the news organisations as Alex, alleged she was having sex with Walliams by the time she was 17.
It was Alex who met him at a Little Britain event.
Asked how she feels about him now, she said: ‘I think I was groomed. 100%.’
Walliams told the publications he believed she was 18 at the time they had sex.
Downing Street said the allegations against David Walliams were ‘deeply troubling.’
Asked about the investigation by Independent Television News and Guardian News and Media, publisher of The Guardian, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘I don’t think we’ve seen the full extent of the reporting.
‘They’re clearly deeply troubling allegations, and the Government will doubtless respond to them during the course of the day, I’m sure.’
Walliams’s lawyers say the suggestion he groomed Alex is false and has caused him significant distress.
The High Court heard that news network ITN and the Guardian newspaper had interviewed more than 100 people, including 30 with ‘first-hand accounts’, as part of a joint investigation into Walliams.
Rather than claiming the stories would breach of his right to privacy, as celebrities have done previously, Walliams claimed they would breach his right to life as they would cause him to kill himself.
However, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that the court had no responsibility to protect his life, and that gagging the news outlets would be a serious threat to free speech.
Walliams, who rose to fame on comedy series Little Britain before becoming one of the most prolific faces on British television, has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
His past romantic connections have included Patsy Kensit, Geri Halliwell, Lisa Snowdon, Ashley James, model Lauren Budd and Miss Norway contender Sylvia Flote.
Most prominent among his past lovers is his ex-wife, the Dutch supermodel Lara Stone, to whom he was married for five years.
Despite enjoying extraordinary success as a comedian and children’s author, selling more than 60 million books worldwide and amassing a £20 million fortune, Walliams has faced a series of controversies over the years.
They have included allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues, offensive remarks about talent show contestants and bizarre comedy routes branded ‘creepy’ and ‘sick’.
Last week, Sara Mansoori KC told the High Court that Walliams had already tried to kill himself twice since learning of the allegations, including while absconding from a secure hospital in July.
‘The [media outlets] wish to publish allegations of wrongdoing which he denies and which the evidence is clear will highly likely lead to his death or psychological injury,’ she said.
‘The only way [publication] wouldn’t be fatal is if [Walliams] is locked up and prevented from taking his own life.’
Walliams, pictured last month, lost his bid to block the media from publishing sex abuse claims against him and did not appeal the decision
Walliams was previously married to Dutch model Lara Stone, pictured in 2014
His other ex-girlfriends have included model Lauren Budd, pictured at the height of his fame in 2009
The court heard that when Walliams was told about the allegations in May, his ‘body language completely changed’ and he went into a state of ‘extreme panic’.
‘He started saying that he wanted to kill himself and would seek to do so,’ said Ms Mansoori. ‘Publication of these allegations would lead to a very substantial increase in suicidal ideation and suicidal acts.’
Gavin Millar KC, for the media outlets, described Walliams’s argument as ‘unprecedented’ and risked dragging the courts into ‘assessing the causes of suicidal ideation, which are for professionals and not for a judge’.
A psychiatrist who assessed Walliams said his mood disorder was treatable and it would be ‘significantly safer’ for him to remain in a secure hospital if the allegations were published.
It is not the first time that Walliams’s behaviour has faced public scrutiny.
In a sketch called ‘Hide the Sausage’ that formed part of a 2006 Little Britain stage show, the comedian played a fictional children’s entertainer and would invite young male volunteers on stage.
Footage that recently resurfaced online showed Walliams humiliating a 16-year-old boy by pulling his trousers and pants down in front of the audience, saying: ‘Bingo – you’re a big boy for 16, aren’t you? That’s what I’ll tell the judge.’
The boy could be seen struggling to keep his genitals covered as Walliams wrestled to kiss his buttocks.
Walliams later defended the sketch, saying: ‘To me, there are no subjects you can’t make fun of, because if you make that line then you have to get rid of all comedy.’
In January 2018, Walliams was forced to apologise after hosting the annual all-male Presidents Club charity dinner at London’s Dorchester Hotel.
An undercover investigation revealed that women serving drinks had been instructed to wear revealing black outfits with matching underwear and high heels, and were subjected to sexually inappropriate behaviour by guests.
Walliams was not accused of harassment himself but later said he was ‘absolutely appalled’ by the behaviour.
In November 2022, Walliams’s decade-long stint as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent came to an end after a leaked transcript revealed him making crude and sexually explicit remarks about contestants.
The comments had been recorded during auditions at the London Palladium, when microphones picked up conversations between the judges during filming breaks.
According to the transcript, Walliams referred to an older male contestant as a ‘c***’ three times after he left the stage, and said about one female contestant: ‘She thinks you want to f*** her but you don’t.’
Walliams apologised for the remarks but later sued BGT producers Fremantle, saying they misused private information and claiming the leak had caused him psychiatric harm and financial losses. The company settled out of court.
In June 2025, Walliams was reprimanded by the BBC after performing Nazi salutes during a recording of the Christmas special of panel show Would I Lie To You?
The incident took place during a segment involving actress Helen George, who was discussing an injury she had sustained while waving during the Strictly Come Dancing tour.
The BBC described the gesture as ‘completely unacceptable’ and production company Zeppotron said any attempt at humour involving the gesture was ‘unacceptable in any context’.
Later that year, publisher HarperCollins said it would no longer publish any new books by Walliams after reports of inappropriate behaviour towards junior female employees.
One former employee was reportedly given a five-figure payoff by the publisher after raising concerns, while others said they had been advised to work in pairs when meeting Walliams and not to visit his home.
In September this year, HarperCollins announced it would stop publishing Walliams’s entire back catalogue of books, ending an almost 20-year relationship between the author and publisher.
His books, including Gangsta Granny, Mr Stink and Ratburger, have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide.
Walliams has strongly denied any wrongdoing from the outset.
