Sky has dropped David Walliams's film "Fing!" and the BBC has begun removing his shows from its streaming service, after a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News accused the comedian and children's author of grooming girls as young as 15. Walliams denies the allegations.
The investigation, published on Tuesday after Walliams lost a legal bid to prevent it from being reported, is based on accounts from 30 sources and covers alleged behaviour spanning two decades, with some allegations dating back to 2003. The Guardian and ITV News reported that Walliams used his fame to groom teenage girls and young women for sex, inviting them to his home, where they stayed overnight, and to his dressing rooms, and pressuring young women to meet him or take part in sexual activity.
Among the most serious claims, Walliams is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old schoolgirl. One woman said she was 15 when Walliams kissed her, while another told ITV News she met him when she was 15 and had sex with him when she was 17. The investigation also reported that he sent messages to a 15-year-old schoolgirl through the social media platform Myspace in 2007 before meeting her in a cafe, and alleged inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at Britain's Got Talent and at his publisher HarperCollins.
Walliams, 55, has denied the allegations. His lawyers say he never engaged in grooming young women and deny he had any sexual contact with one of the women named in the reports. In a statement to ITV News and the Guardian, Walliams said he had "behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with". None of the allegations has been decided in a court.
The story reached publication only after a long court fight. A High Court judge rejected Walliams's plea to prevent him being named in the investigation, and the protection of his identity expired late on Monday after a deadline passed for him to appeal against the ruling. The Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday it had contacted the Guardian and ITV News following the investigation to ensure potential victims were aware they could report any criminal allegations.
The fallout was immediate. Sky, which had secured the UK and Ireland distribution rights to "Fing!", the film adaptation of Walliams's children's book, confirmed it was leaving the project. "The allegations made against David Walliams are extremely serious. We have notified the producers of the film of our intention to exit our position as the UK & Ireland licensee of 'Fing!'," a Sky spokesperson said. Sky also said it had already removed content featuring Walliams from its platforms.
"Fing!", a live-action family adventure based on Walliams's 2019 children's book, premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and stars Blake Harrison, Mia Wasikowska and Iona Bell, with Walliams credited as a co-writer. It had been billed for release in the UK as a Sky Original in early 2027. Its producers said on Tuesday they had removed Walliams's cameo appearance and that he would have "no involvement in the film's release or promotion". The film's theatrical release on 14 January remains unchanged, but its UK streaming future is now uncertain, and in Australia the streaming service Stan has also removed the film from its upcoming slate.
The BBC said on Tuesday it would remove shows starring or written by Walliams, including the sketch comedy "Little Britain", "Gangsta Granny" and an episode of "Doctor Who" in which he appeared, while it carries out a review of "all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms". His literary agency, Independent Talent Group, said it was dropping him following the new allegations.
It is not the first time Walliams's professional relationships have ended over alleged behaviour towards women. HarperCollins, his publisher, dropped him last December after allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The Guardian reported that there had been concerns about his behaviour for years, including an allegation of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee.
For now, the film at the centre of the row is in limbo, with no confirmed replacement distributor or revised UK release date, and the BBC's review of his catalogue is continuing. The investigation itself, three years in the making, has already ended the career structure Walliams built over two decades as a comedian, children's author and television star — and the question of whether any criminal case follows now rests with the police and with anyone who chooses to come forward.
