NEED TO KNOW
- David Walliams has been named in a joint investigative report by The Guardian and ITV News.
- Multiple women have alleged that Walliams exploited his celebrity status and position of power to groom and prey on them when they were teenagers and young women.
- Walliams had pursued legal action to stop his name from being published in the media, however his request was rejected.
Content warning: this article discusses topics including sexual assault and suicide, which may be distressing to some readers. If you are experiencing sexual abuse or other unwanted behaviour, please contact 1800RESPECT.
British comedian, actor and children’s author David Walliams has been accused of grooming by multiple women.
The claims were revealed following a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian, despite Walliams launching legal action in an attempt to prevent his name from being published. Walliams has denied the allegations against him.
After he unsuccessfully sought an injunction to block the reports, the women’s accounts were published at approximately 11pm AEDT on Tuesday, November 10. Walliams’ lawyer, Sara Mansoori, argued that publication posed such a serious threat to his life that allowing the reports to proceed would itself amount to a breach of his human rights. Mansoori also told the court that Walliams has attempted suicide twice due to the investigation and publication of the alleged findings. He has since been admitted to hospital for psychiatric care.
The allegations span more than two decades, dating back to 2003, as Walliams’ profile was rising following his breakout role on the BBC sketch comedy Little Britain.
The Guardian’s investigation details accounts from multiple women, who are nearly all identified by either their first name or a pseudonym, including two who said they first met Walliams while they were underage.
David Walliams Allegations
Multiple women have come forward with accounts of their experiences with Walliams, alleging that he used his platform and celebrity status to prey on, and groom teenage girls and young women for sex.
One such account, published by The Guardian, comes via a woman named Alex, who claims she first met Walliams in 2004, when she was 15, at a fan event where he was signing autographs.
A fan of Little Britain, Alex was also an aspiring comedy writer, and passed on her contact details along with samples of scripts she had written to Walliams at the event. The pair soon began exchanging emails, ostensibly under the guise of Walliams supporting her career. They reportedly discussed the possibility of Alex undertaking work experience, although she says the opportunity ultimately fell through.
Looking back, she told The Guardian, “I can see that he was probably trying to make me feel special.” However, Walliams’ responses soon became less frequent, leaving Alex confused by the sudden change in his behaviour. She recalled, “He was the one spending hours on the phone to me, like telling me and promising me that I could do all this stuff. And then he shut it down. Which was confusing for me because he had been so approachable and chatty before and I just didn’t want to let a connection go.”
The pair resumed emailing in late 2005, but this time the tone had become overtly more sexual. Alex was then 17 and a half, while Walliams was 34. In one of the email threads, Alex had sent Walliams four selfies, to which he replied: “Those pictures are really lovely by the way… Will you send me some more?”
When they later spoke on the phone, she says, “The tone had massively become sexual.” Alex recalls visiting Walliams’ London flat on three separate occasions, the first time, she alleges, when she was 17.
Alex reportedly spoke to The Guardian about her experience with Walliams across several interviews over more than a year. Looking back, she is clear about how she views what happened. “I think I was groomed, 100%. We met when I was 15 and he was promising to help me and was a figure of authority and someone that I looked to for guidance and help. He used that power and abused that power the minute he felt he just about could and it was just about safe to.”
She added, “I want to vomit. I hate him. My body reacts when I think about it. It’s like a trauma response.”
Walliams’ lawyers deny that he groomed Alex, saying he was under the impression she was 18, and said the allegations have caused him significant distress.
Lilly Creightmore Details “Highly Inappropriate” Behaviour
Lilly Creightmore was also a fan of Little Britain and attended a filming of one of the sketches with her mother in 2003. She claims Walliams was “staring intently at her from the side of the stage.”
At the time, Creightmore was working as a model and had previously appeared on the reality TV show Model Behaviour at the age of 16. She recalls seeing Walliams again at an Agent Provocateur event in London, and not long afterwards, a card arrived at her mother’s house from the comedian, in which he wrote: “When I saw you in Agent Provocateur I so wanted to speak to you but amongst all those frilly knickers I couldn’t find the words.”
Uncertain how Walliams had obtained her name and address, Creightmore called the number on the card out of curiosity, eventually leading to the pair having dinner. At the time, she was 18 and Walliams was 32.
Creightmore, who was an aspiring creative, says Walliams had extended his network of connections to her, but alleges he later attempted to coerce her into sleeping with him.
A friend of Walliams at the time, identified as Ben in The Guardian’s report, revealed that he was the one who had passed on Creightmore’s details. He recalled believing Walliams was simply an “old-fashioned romantic”. However, Ben now worries that other women may have felt uncomfortable with the comedian’s attention. He also claims that, during their friendship, Walliams had described himself as a sex addict, something Walliams also addressed in his 2012 autobiography, Camp David.
Reflecting on the experience, Creightmore said: “Yeah, I was a young adult, but I was a vulnerable young adult. [He was] making me feel special, plying me with gifts and then sort of disregarding me when he wasn’t getting what he wanted.”
Walliams’ lawyers disputed her allegations, saying his gifts came with no expectations and that he was surprised by Creightmore’s account. They maintained that he did not manipulate or coerce her.
Jade’s MySpace Messages
One of the most troubling allegations reported comes from Jade, who claims Walliams first contacted her through MySpace when she was just 15. She alleges her date of birth was displayed on her profile at the time he reached out.
Speaking to The Guardian, Jade revealed she had been struggling with her mental health in her mid teens and that the attention from Walliams made her feel special. “You get this celebrity approaching you – that’s a whole different level of attention,” she told the publication. “Then you think: oh, I must be a bit special in a way.”
In August 2007, Walliams, then 36, allegedly arranged to meet Jade, who was still 15, at a cafe in London. She recalled having little hesitation about meeting him, explaining: “I think when you see someone on telly, you sort of feel like you know them,” she says…You sort of feel – well, it’ll be fine, won’t it?”
According to Jade, the conversation soon veered into her sexual history, with Walliams allegedly asking her if she’d ever had sex. She said she had told him she hadn’t, although disclosed to him that she’d been sexually abused as a child.
Jade alleges that Walliams subsequently invited her back to his house, where he initiated sexual contact, however she soon asked him to stop.
Looking back on the encounter as an adult, Jade considers what happened to be “sexual assault,” adding, “It’s grooming…It’s completely wrong in every way.”
Supernova Heights Celebrity Parties
Walliams’ Supernova Heights home, which was previously owned by Oasis star Noel Gallagher, became a notorious celebrity party venue in the early 2000’s. Walliams had bought the property in 2005 for a reported £3.25m (approximately $6.3m AUD).
In January 2008, 20-year-old student and part-time model Ella attended a party there after Walliams, then 36, had contacted her through her modelling agent, invited her to dinner and sent her roses. Ella claims Walliams pursued her attention during the party, attempted to kiss her in his bedroom and later asked her to stay overnight, leaving her feeling vulnerable and intimidated.
She now views his behaviour as an abuse of power. Walliams’ lawyers dispute parts of her account, saying he intended a comically clumsy romantic advance “in the style of Mr Bean,” and denies intimidating her.
Britain’s Got Talent Staff Allegations
Following the success of his children’s book The Boy in the Dress, published in 2008, Walliams increasingly positioned himself as a family-friendly entertainer. He married model Lara Stone in 2010, and the couple welcomed a child together in 2013, although the couple divorced in 2015.
In 2012, he became a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, where his campy persona and playful banter with Simon Cowell helped him build a devoted fan base. However, behind the scenes, concerns were reportedly emerging about his behaviour towards young female runners and production staff.
Employees reportedly exchanged messages expressing discomfort about Walliams contacting young runners, including allegedly calling one 19-year-old “gorgeous” and commenting “Hot” on her Instagram photo.
One 24-year-old runner also recalled an incident in 2017 in which Walliams allegedly leered at her chest and referred to her as “the one with the arse”.
Walliams has denied these allegations.
Walliams Is Dropped By HarperCollins & Britain’s Got Talent
The Guardian reported speaking to several women aged 18-22, who claimed Walliams had contacted them through social media around 2017.
His career would soon falter after facing criticism in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, when his work on Little Britain came under renewed scrutiny for its use of blackface, which he later apologised for. Other controversial incidents also resurfaced, including an episode during Little Britain’s Australian tour in 2007 which saw him pull a 16-year-old boy onto the stage, kiss him on the lips and pull down his trousers and underwear.
Walliams was aware of the controversial nature of the routine, and was reportedly quoted in a book which documented the UK segment of the tour saying: “If we did the show in America, I’d probably get lawsuits from everyone I molested, but in Bournemouth I can somehow get away with it.”
Further concerns emerged when a fan, who had met Walliams backstage at Britain’s Got Talent and later stayed at his house, tweeted: “Why did I ever think it was ‘normal’ for a 44yr male to invite four girls aged 16/17 into his dressing room without any adults – just his PA, who would bring refreshments once in a while. And the fact that everyone at that TV production company would see it and say NOTHING.”
Concerns were also allegedly flagged by staff at HarperCollins, the publisher of his successful children’s books, following a 2022 Guardian investigation into derogatory and sexually explicit remarks Walliams had made about contestants on Britain’s Got Talent. He apologised for the comments, which were made during private conversations but had been picked up by microphones, but was ultimately dropped from the show after his 10 year stint as a judge.
Despite his departure from the programme, HarperCollins continued publishing Walliams’ books. It was not until December 2025, following a change in management, that the publisher dropped him.
In September 2026, it was announced that HarperCollins would be cutting all ties with Walliams and would no longer publish any of his work.
What Has Walliams & His Lawyers Said?
Walliams allegedly sent a letter to the journalists atThe Guardian, saying: “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. 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 continued, “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.”
He denies the allegations.
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