Metropolitan Police investigate David Walliams over alleged sexual offences
Summary
- A Guardian and ITV News investigation, published on 10 November 2026, reports multiple women accusing David Walliams of grooming and sexual misconduct, some when they were 15.
- Walliams, star of Little Britain, a former Britain's Got Talent judge and bestselling children's author, denies wrongdoing and says he has never broken the law.
- On 13 November the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into Walliams after receiving several allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences.
- His publisher HarperCollins had dropped him in December 2025 after an internal inquiry into behaviour towards young women, and stopped his back catalogue in September.
- His literary agency dropped him, the BBC removed Little Britain from iPlayer, retailers and schools pulled his books, and Sky withdrew the licence for his film Fing!
- Comedian Lucy Beaumont identified herself as a whistleblower in the investigation and says she feared being blacklisted from television.
Reactions
- David Walliams wrote in a letter to journalists that he behaved thoughtlessly at times but is 'not a sexual predator' and has not broken the law.
- Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney urged victims of sexual offences to come forward, saying specialist officers are available to support and guide them.
- Jonathan Ross called his 2004 British Comedy Awards joke about Walliams tasteless and said he would have refused it had he suspected it referred to real events.
- Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the claims the latest in a long line of reported abuses of power and said she would meet senior media and entertainment figures.
- Independent Talent Group said it was deeply disturbed by the allegations and dropped Walliams, while Downing Street called them deeply troubling.
- Lucy Beaumont said she feared never working in television again, but her book sold out and fans flooded her with messages of support.
Timeline newest first
Lucy Beaumont reveals she intervened to support a junior TV worker who raised concerns about David Walliams's behaviour, and her book sells out as fans send messages of support.
The Metropolitan Police launch an investigation into David Walliams after receiving several allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving him.
The Metropolitan Police say the allegations against David Walliams are separate from those in published reports, but detectives are proactively reviewing that reporting for evidence of offences.
Lucy Beaumont says she was a whistleblower on David Walliams, who was named on 10 November 2026 after missing his 9 November appeal deadline against the injunction ruling.
On 3 November 2026, judge Matthew Nicklin refuses David Walliams a permanent injunction, ruling the investigation concerns matters of substantial public interest, and Walliams later decides not to appeal.
Sources newest first
Lucy Beaumont thought she’d never work in TV again after speaking up on David Walliams. Something different happened
The Guardian reports on comedian Lucy Beaumont's decision to speak up in its and ITV News' investigation into David Walliams, whom multiple women accuse of preying on young women and teenagers, and which Walliams denies. Beaumont feared speaking out would end her TV career, but instead her book sold out and fans flooded her with support.
UK police launch investigation into children's author David Walliams
London's Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation into children's author and comedian David Walliams after a Guardian and ITV investigation accused him of grooming and sexually assaulting girls as young as 15. Walliams denies the allegations, saying he has never broken the law, and police urge potential victims to come forward.
Police investigating David Walliams over alleged serious sexual offences
The Metropolitan Police is investigating David Walliams over reported serious sexual offences, after ITV News and Guardian allegations were published when he lost a legal bid to keep the claims private. The force says its allegations are separate from that reporting but detectives are reviewing it; Walliams said he is not a sexual predator and has not broken the law.
Schools, libraries and parents face 'difficult decision' over David Walliams books
BBC culture reporter Ian Youngs reports that some schools and libraries have removed David Walliams' books after ITV News and the Guardian reported allegations of sexual misconduct, including 'grooming' accusations, which he denies, saying in a letter to journalists he was 'not a sexual predator'. Retailers will stop selling his books, Camden Council is storing them, Kent and Surrey are keeping them on shelves, and the Association of School and College Leaders' Pepe Di'Iasio urged national government guidance for schools.
Years of onscreen jokes suggest Walliams’ reputation was ‘in plain sight’ within industry, insider says
The Guardian reports allegations that David Walliams used his fame to prey on young women and teenagers, and examines more than 20 years of onscreen jokes — from the 2004 British Comedy Awards, a Comic Relief sketch, and talkshow quips by Alan Carr and Jimmy Carr — as apparent public nods to his reputation, which an insider says was "in plain sight". Walliams denies wrongdoing; Jonathan Ross calls the 2004 joke deeply shocking, and Lucy Beaumont describes being told young women were taken to his dressing room.
What is David Walliams accused of and what has he said in response?
A Guardian explainer sets out allegations, from a joint investigation with ITV News, that David Walliams used his power and celebrity to pursue young women and teenagers for sex, including claims from women who say they met him as minors. It recounts his failed court bid to block publication, HarperCollins dropping him, and his lawyers' denials of grooming, abusing power, or acting as a sexual predator, along with his letter saying he is not a sexual predator.
David Walliams whistleblower Lucy Beaumont fears being blacklisted from TV industry
Lucy Beaumont says she fears being blacklisted from television after identifying herself as a whistleblower on allegations against David Walliams, believing she will never work in the industry again, and says a male TV worker told her his job involved taking young girls to Walliams' dressing room. Walliams denies any wrongdoing; a High Court judge dismissed his bid to block publication of the allegations, and after he missed a 9 November 2026 appeal deadline he was named as the celebrity behind the injunction.
Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by David Walliams and Russell Brand revelations
The Guardian reports Jonathan Ross's horror at revelations about David Walliams, saying his 2004 Comedy Awards joke about Walliams going home with a 15-year-old was scripted by the awards team and that he would have refused it had he suspected it referred to real events, calling it tasteless. Several women accuse Walliams of using his celebrity to prey on young women and teenagers; he denies wrongdoing in a letter, while the BBC reviews his material, his agency drops him, Sky pulls his film Fing!, and Labour suspends his membership.
Comedian doubtful about future in TV after blowing whistle on Walliams
An ABC News article reports comedian Lucy Beaumont's doubts she will work in television again after speaking to reporters about David Walliams, following a Guardian and ITV News investigation alleging he groomed teenage fans and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl as far back as 2003 — allegations his lawyers deny. Beaumont, who says she never witnessed the misconduct but was told by a former co-worker about girls being brought to Walliams's dressing room, also says the week Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 years and six months for rape and sexual assault marks a second reckoning for British male comedians.
Jonathan Ross 'horrified' by Walliams allegations and Brand conviction
A BBC News article reports Jonathan Ross's statement that he is "horrified" by sexual misconduct allegations against David Walliams and Russell Brand's rape conviction, saying he was unaware of their conduct. Walliams denies the allegations from a Guardian and ITV News investigation; the Met says several people have approached it about Brand.
The Guardian view on David Walliams: allegations about abuse of power and sexual misconduct deserve publication | Editorial
The Guardian's editorial argues that allegations of abuse of power and sexual misconduct against David Walliams deserved publication, after Mr Justice Nicklin refused his injunction bid and endorsed public-interest journalism while taking his suicide risk seriously. Walliams, who denies the claims and was sectioned after two suicide attempts, is accused by women of grooming fans as young as 15 and harassing colleagues; the paper says editors must weigh subjects' welfare against the public interest.
David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct in Guardian and ITN investigation
An ITV News and Guardian investigation, published after a High Court rejected David Walliams's bid to stop it, has several women — two of whom say contact began when they were 15 — accusing the former Little Britain star of sexual misconduct and grooming, allegations he denies while acknowledging in a letter that he sometimes "behaved thoughtlessly." The fallout was swift: his agent dropped him, HarperCollins cut ties, the BBC removed Little Britain from iPlayer, and the Metropolitan Police contacted the outlets to tell potential victims how to report allegations.
Britse komiek David Walliams beschuldigd van seksueel wangedrag bij jonge vrouwen
nos.nl· 4d
A NOS Nieuwsvandaag article reports that a joint Guardian and ITV News investigation accuses British comedian and children's author David Walliams of sexual misconduct, with women saying he used his fame to groom girls and young women for sex. The 55-year-old Walliams disputes the accusations, failed to stop publication, and writes in a letter quoted by The Guardian that he is "not a sexual predator" and has never broken the law.
David Walliams, UK Celebrity, Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct
Alex Marshall and Megan Specia report in the New York Times that David Walliams, the "Little Britain" star and best-selling children's author, was publicly accused of exploiting his celebrity to sexually prey on women and teenagers, some as young as 15, in a Guardian and ITV News investigation based on 30 accounts, published after a judge on Nov. 3 lifted an injunction he had won following two suicide attempts. Walliams denies the allegations, saying he is not a sexual predator and has not broken the law.
The allegations against David Walliams | Investigation by the Guardian and ITV News
A Guardian and ITV News investigation reports that multiple women allege David Walliams abused his celebrity power and position to prey on them sexually when they were young women. Walliams denies the allegations, writing in a letter to the journalists that he behaved thoughtlessly at times but is not a sexual predator and never abused his power.
‘It wasn’t long until he asked me if I’d ever had sex before’: David Walliams accused of preying on young women for sex
The Guardian and ITV News investigate allegations that David Walliams groomed fans as young as 15 — including Alex, Jade, Lilly Creightmore and Ella — and harassed young women at HarperCollins and Britain's Got Talent, allegations he denies, writing "I am not a sexual predator" after a high court bid to stop publication failed. The piece charts his rise from Little Britain to bestselling children's author and OBE recipient, and reports that HarperCollins dropped him after an internal inquiry concluded in 2024 without consequences for him.
Revealed: David Walliams accused of using celebrity status to prey on young women for sex
A Guardian and ITV News joint investigation, drawing on 30 first-hand sources, reports that multiple women accuse David Walliams of using his celebrity to prey on young women and teenagers, including two who say he groomed them after they met him at 15. A high court judge rejected his bid for a lifelong injunction, citing press freedom, though Walliams, who denies the allegations and writes that he is not a sexual predator, remains sectioned in a psychiatric hospital.
Background newest first
Women came forward to protect others. They’re heroes | Lucy Beaumont
In a Guardian opinion piece, comedian Lucy Beaumont calls the women who came forward heroes, saying their abuse was never hidden and that those around the men either worried or looked away. She writes that women long carried the blame, and that audiences, by choosing what to watch, are showing they want the truth and things are changing.
David Walliams: Power and Silence review – some of this footage will make your head spin
The Guardian reviews David Walliams: Power and Silence, an hour-long ITV documentary on the comic allegedly grooming teenage girls, whose testimony it calls dizzying television. Women describe being charmed and manoeuvred into unwanted sexual scenarios; archive footage shows Jonathan Ross joking about the awards "going home with David Walliams"; Walliams denies everything, and HarperCollins has cut all ties.
What are the key legal issues surrounding the David Walliams case?
A Guardian explainer sets out the legal issues in David Walliams' failed high court attempt to stop the Guardian and ITN publishing allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour, which he denies. Mr Justice Nicklin ruled his right to private life was outweighed by freedom of expression, and Walliams missed his deadline to appeal.
World of David Walliams permanently closed at Alton Towers
independent.co.uk· 11d
The Independent reports that Alton Towers will permanently close its World of David Walliams attraction, home to Gangsta Granny: The Ride, from 3 November 2026. The closure followed HarperCollins dropping Walliams over allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women, which he strongly denies, saying he was never informed of any investigation.
