David Walliams accused of preying on teenage girls and sexually assaulting 15-year-old

David Walliams accused of preying on teenage girls and sexually assaulting 15-year-old Little Britain star insists he is not a sexual predator, denies any wrongdoing and says he is ‘devastated’ by allegations - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Comedian and former Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams has been unmasked as the star who failed to gag reports accusing him of grooming teenagers as young as 15. Multiple women have accused the celebrity of sexual misconduct in an investigation published by the Guardian and ITV News, alleging he used his fame to prey on them for sexual purposes. One claims she was just 15 when the Little Britain star allegedly contacted her out of the blue on MySpace in 2007. The 36-year-old comic later invited her to his £3.2million London townhouse where he sexually assaulted her, she alleges. The Metropolitan Police says it has not received any reports of sexual assault or other offences, but added if anyone comes forward their complaints will be “carefully assessed”. Mr Walliams denies any wrongdoing and his lawyers took a case to the High Court to try to stop the allegations being published. In an emphatic denial, Mr Walliams insisted he is “not a sexual predator” and said he is “devastated” that allegations have been brought against him. “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with,” the comedian said in a statement to the Guardian and ITV News. “I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret. And 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.” He added: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.” Mr Walliams, now 55, did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment following the publication of his name on Tuesday. The prime minister’s spokesperson described the allegations as “deeply troubling” and the Labour Party is understood to have suspended the television personality’s membership after the accusations came to light. A BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster is in the process of removing some programmes while it carries out a review of “all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms”. The children’s author was also dropped by his literary agency, Independent Talent Group (ITG), on Tuesday, with a spokesman saying they were “deeply disturbed” by the allegations. His publisher HarperCollins dropped him in December 2025 after an investigation into allegations that he had “harassed” young women, which Mr Walliams denied. The eponymous Alton Towers attraction inspired by his bestselling children’s books was permanently closed earlier this month. The joint investigation includes accounts from several women who shared their allegations using pseudonyms. One, who used the name Jade, claimed her date of birth was displayed on her profile page on MySpace when Mr Walliams sent her a private message in summer 2007. In August that year, when she was 17, they met in person and he took her back to his then-home in Belsize Park, she alleges. She claimed what happened to her there was “sexual assault” and “grooming”, adding: “It’s completely wrong in every way.” Walliams strongly denied that he had any sexual contact with Jade, adding that he rejects any allegations of criminal activity and he has never engaged in the grooming of young women. Another woman, named by the news organisations as Alex, alleged she was 15 and studying for her GCSEs when Walliams telephoned her in 2004 after she had shared some of her scripts with him at a fan event a few days earlier. They stayed in contact and she started having sex with Walliams when she was 17, she claims. 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. His lawyers say the suggestion he groomed Alex is false and has caused him significant distress. Another young woman, Lilly Creightmore, said she met Walliams in July 2003 when she was 18 at a live filming of Little Britain. Having seen him at a second event, the former teen model claimed she received a card sent to her home asking her out. She said they became friends and when she fell out with her mother, Walliams invited her to stay with him. Although she slept on the sofa, she claimed he asked her to stay in his bed every night. “He would plead with me to share a bed with him and paw at me, trying to make me feel sorry for him,” she told the news organisations. “He definitely crossed the line physically in moments, when I was young, trying to coerce me into sleeping with him.” Lawyers for Walliams said he saw her as a close friend and is mortified that she feels he was grooming her, which he denies. He also denies targeting her because she was young and vulnerable and insists he did not say or do anything inappropriate. A model, named as Ella, was 19 when she met Walliams, then 36, in 2007, and attended a party at his house. She alleges he tried to kiss her when they were alone and she “ducked underneath his arm and ran away”. Walliams said he made a “clumsy pass” at Ella but made no further approaches. Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the government is “concerned” about the use of injunctions and is “looking at what more” it can do, after Mr Walliams used the courts to try to prevent the allegations from being published. Mr Walliams had brought legal action against the news outlet’s publishers Independent Television News (ITN) and Guardian News and Media (GNM). He denied the claims and unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prevent publication because of the risk he would take his own life, after two previous suicide attempts. The author was granted anonymity during the proceedings, which was lifted after his injunction bid was dismissed and the investigations were published on Tuesday. They also included allegations about Mr Walliams’ conduct at BGT, and at his publisher HarperCollins. A spokesperson for ITV said: “Our thoughts are with those who have spoken out and we are very sorry to hear about their experiences. “BGT is produced for ITV by Fremantle, an independent production company. Although ITV is the broadcaster of the programme, the producer has day to day responsibility for the running of the production, including all aspects of duty of care, and for ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory obligations as well as ITV’s production and compliance guidelines. “We expect the highest standards of all production companies who work with us, and to be notified of any duty of care concerns when they come to the producer’s attention. Fremantle have confirmed that no complaint has ever been made to them about David Walliams’ behaviour.” A spokesperson for HarperCollins said: “HarperCollins UK previously terminated its publishing relationship with David Walliams. We take the safety of our people incredibly seriously and to respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on employee matters”. A Met spokesperson said they had contacted the news outlets last week to ensure potential victims were aware of how to report criminal allegations. “The Met has not received any related reports of sexual assault or any other offences,” the spokesperson added. “Should we receive any reports, they will be carefully assessed. Anyone who contacts the police will be supported by specialist officers.” Reports can be made by calling 101, providing the reference 4900/10NOV26. [Image text:] M MEIRTY SILMFT AO MEDTERRAN HILMEISTIAU M