Allegations that David Walliams preyed on girls as young as 15 for sex stretch back more than two decades, with the earliest claims arising just as his TV career was taking off.

The 55-year-old, who shot to fame with the sketch series Little Britain, is alleged to have ‘abused his status’ to engage in ‘inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities’ with several women and girls over two decades.

He sought a High Court injunction to prevent the claims from being published, claiming he would take his own life were they to be made public. 

But a judge refused the application and Walliams did not appeal, paving the way for The Guardian and ITV News to publish a joint investigation drawing on more than 30 first-hand accounts and dozens of other interviews.

Walliams’ career – built on the camp, flamboyant and outlandish persona that later became his trademark as a Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) judge – now faces total collapse, with his books, TV shows and other media effectively cancelled.

The actor, full name David Edward Williams,  denies that he is a ‘sexual predator’, but says he behaved ‘thoughtlessly’ in previous ‘casual sexual relationships’. 

Some of those who spoke out for the investigation asked for their identities to be protected: their allegations, and Walliams’ seemingly unstoppable ascension to the top of Britain’s celebrity circuit along the way, are detailed below.

2003

Little Britain, the sketch comedy series Walliams created and wrote with long-time friend Matt Lucas, airs on TV for the first time and proves to be an instant hit, earning him a Best TV Comedy Newcomer gong at the British Comedy Awards.

His Little Britain characters included bedraggled carer Lou Todd, Carol – known for her ‘Computer Says No’ catchphrase – and crossdresser Emily Howard, described in publicity materials as ‘the rubbish transvestite’.

The same year Walliams, then 32, allegedly writes to 18-year-old model Lilly Creightmore after spotting her at a Little Britain recording and a modelling show at an Agent Provocateur store in London, saying he was ‘enraptured’.

She claims Walliams bought her gifts and was ‘pursuing me, at a vulnerable age… for sexual gratification’, while a former friend of Walliams says the comedian got her details from the producers of show she appeared in at the age of 18. 

Walliams was pictured with an arm around Ms Creightmore at a charity quiz night in London in 2003, next to Jonathan Ross, Ross’s wife and screenwriter Jane Goldman, Ricky Gervais, film critic Peter Bradshaw and the film-maker Joe Cornish.

He said via his lawyers that he denies allegations of grooming or behaving inappropriately, and that her account of their friendship was a ‘complete surprise’. 

2004

Walliams, dressed as Little Britain character Lou, meets 15-year-old Little Britain fan Alex – not her real name – at a signing event in London.

Alex, an aspiring comedy writer, hands him scripts she has been creating, along with her contact details. Walliams allegedly calls her, asking her how old she is, and tells her to stay in touch.

In December, Little Britain cleans up at the British Comedy Awards: the show itself wins Best TV Comedy and the public-voted People’s Choice Award, while Walliams and Lucas jointly win Best TV Comedy Actor.

During the ceremony, host Jonathan Ross jokes that the awards are ’15 years old… and like most 15-year-olds, it’s drunk, it’s unpredictable and it’s probably going home with David Walliams’. 

Walliams responded by laughing, and making the V-sign at Ross. Lawyers for Ross told The Guardian he did not write the joke himself.

2005

Little Britain proves unstoppable: millions watch it each week, and Walliams and Lucas pick up two Baftas and two Rose d’Or awards this year.

A stage adaptation, Little Britain Live, begins touring the UK and Ireland in October ahead of a ‘Down Under’ tour in Australia.

Shortly before the Australia tour begins, Walliams allegedly emails Alex, asking: ‘How old are you now?’ and if she was still writing comedy scripts. She says she joked that she was ‘old enough to go drinking’ but was in fact 17 years old.

The tone of Walliams’ messages is said to become ‘massively sexual’ after Alex begins sending him photographs of herself. He allegedly propositions her on the phone and, Alex says, requested sexual and nude pictures.

Walliams’ lawyers said that he believed she was 18 at the time they were messaging, and does not recall or believe that he asked her to send sexual images.

One segment of Little Britain Live sees Walliams strip completely naked in his role as Sebastian, a ministerial aide who lusts after the Prime Minister – played on TV, and on some live dates, by the late actor Anthony Head.

In another, Walliams plays Des Kaye, a paedophilic children’s entertainer who plays ‘hide the sausage’ with audience members – wrestling and groping with showgoers on stage after they hid a prop sausage on their person.

A BBC review published at the time noted that a performance in Ipswich appeared to involve ‘a very embarrassed 17 year old’ and ‘questionable homo-erotic stances’.

Walliams would later apologise to actor Jeremy Edwards and music producer Mark Ronson after exposing them to large audiences at charity events while performing the same routine in 2006 and 2009. 

Edwards appeared in a special edition of the live show in 2006 in aid of Comic Relief – which also saw Walliams’ friend and convicted rapist Russell Brand appear in a crossdressing sketch. By this time, Brand had sexually assaulted two women.

There is no suggestion Walliams knew of Brand’s offending or was involved in any of the convicted sex offender’s wrongdoing. 

2006

Walliams is alleged to have had sex with Alex at his flat in Belsize Park, north-west London, in the spring. She claims she was 17 the first time – and that Walliams did not use contraception. 

She visited on at least two further occasions, and each time would leave immediately after sex, feeling like ‘a prostitute, essentially’. 

In July that year, Walliams raises £1million for Sport Relief after swimming the Channel in the ‘Speedo Sport Relief Super Swim’, for which he would later be commended by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

His 21-mile swim sees him named the most influential public figure at the Pride of Britain Awards and earns him a Special Achievement Award at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year bash.

He also allegedly gifts Alex backstage passes and tickets – she keeps her tickets for the Little Britain Live show at the Hammersmith Apollo.

By this time, Alex claims she was having doubts about Walliams’ intentions and distances herself. She alleges that he continued to ask her for sex over the next two years, once visiting her in a pub to ask her to perform a sex act in his Aston Martin.

She told the investigation: ‘I think I was groomed, 100 per cent. I never said no, but I felt unable to say anything or have any control in that situation once I was with him.’

Lawyers for Walliams deny allegations he groomed Alex, propositioned her, or had unprotected sex the first time they slept together. 

They further claim that Alex restarted contact, had shared no concerns about having sex, and contacted Walliams from the pub where she alleged he approached her.

Towards the end of the year, Walliams appears alongside Lucas on Russell Brand’s self-titled Channel 4 chat show, where he joked that his and Brand’s camp persona served as ‘a wonderful smokescreen’.

Brand responded: ‘Isn’t it, though? Isn’t it glorious? It works wonderfully well.’ There is no suggestion Walliams knew of Brand’s offending or was involved in any of the convicted sex offender’s wrongdoing.

2007

Jade – not her real name – claims Walliams contacts her via the social media site MySpace after she publicly commented on one of his pictures, asking for her phone number and giving her his email address.

In August, when he was 36 and she was 15, she says she met him at Fresh & Wild, a high-end cafe in Soho, and asked her if she had ever had sex. As he walked her to an Underground station, Jade claims Walliams kissed her before propositioning her.

Walliams is then alleged to have driven Jade in his Aston Martin to his house, a £3.25million five-storey Belsize Park home previously owned by Noel Gallagher known as Supernova Heights, before attempting what she now characterises as ‘sexual assault’.

She says he lifted her t-shirt and coerced her into putting her hand down his trousers, before agreeing to stop when she objected. Jade claims he then said they should ‘wait until I’m 16’.

She later sought to confront Walliams at his home with friends before backing out, and said: ‘I wasn’t ready for sex. It’s grooming. It’s completely wrong in every way.’

Walliams, through his lawyers, denies grooming young women and having any sexual contact with Jade, adding that claims of serious criminal conduct were ‘false’.

He is then alleged to have left a voicemail for a 19-year-old model called Ella – not her real name – before trying to kiss her at a party he hosted at Supernova Heights shortly after she turned 20.

Ella accused Walliams of ‘unwanted physical touching’ and ’emotional manipulation’ after he bought her dinner and sent her flowers, adding that he ‘begged’ her to stay after she rejected his advances.

Walliams, through his lawyers, said he made a ‘clumsy pass’ at her, made no further approaches, and had no intention of making her uncomfortable. 

The same year, Walliams appears in the Hollywood film Stardust – the first of more than 25 feature films he appears in over the next decade – alongside an all-star cast.

Footage of Walliams’ ‘Hide the Sausage’ act, showing him kissing a boy who says he is 16-year-old before trying to pull down his trousers and underwear, is broadcast in a BBC documentary of the Little Britain Down Under tour in Australia.

During the programme, Walliams reads a letter that he says was sent to him by a sex abuse victim who took issue with the Des Kaye character featured in the sketch.

Responding to the letter, he said: ‘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.’

Lilly Creightmore, who had been contacted by Walliams when she was 18, claims she was invited to join him on the Australia tour – and that he ‘hit the roof’ when she said she wasn’t interested in having sex with him if she went.

2008

Jade says she sends Walliams a News of the World article about Elizaveta Osova, a 20-year-old Russian model who claims Walliams used her for sex. Walliams, she says, does not respond.

The same year, Walliams swims 12 miles across the Strait of Gibraltar for Sport Relief, and stars in the short-lived TV spin-off Little Britain USA alongside Matt Lucas.

He also publishes his first book, the Boy In the Dress, with HarperCollins UK, who will go on to publish more than 40 children’s titles bearing his name.

2010

Walliams’ career continues to blossom: he raises another £1million for Sport Relief as part of a celebrity team cycling the length of the UK without stopping.

He also marries his wife, the Dutch model Lara Stone, in May. The wedding is attended by top British comics including Ronnie Corbett, Jonathan Ross, Rob Brydon and Alan Carr, as well as designer Tom Ford and TV’s Denise van Outen.

On Christmas Day, Walliams’ next collaboration with Matt Lucas premieres on BBC One: Come Fly With Me is a Little Britain-esque sketch series set in a British airport.

It attracts viewers but is immediately met with a racism storm over its Irish, Arab, Pakistani, Jamaican and Japanese stereotypes. It is renewed for a second series that ultimately is never made because Lucas wanted to pursue other projects.

2011

Walliams swims 140 miles along the length of the River Thames, raising another £1million for Sport Relief, and is greeted by his wife at the end.

2012

Walliams, together with Alesha Dixon, joins BGT as a judge, joining Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden after Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff bowed out. 

He will ultimately appear on ten series of the reality show.

He also releases autobiography Camp David through Penguin imprint Michael Joseph, and hosts the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

2013 and 2014

David Walliams and Lara Stone announce the birth of their son Alfred in May 2013. 

In 2014, the BBC announces plans to adapt The Boy in the Dress as a TV film, which airs on Boxing Day that year.  It last aired on CBBC at Christmas.

2015

Whilst filming the latest series of BGT, Walliams invites 17-year-old Abby Tomlinson to a recording of the show, which she attends with a 13-year-old girl.

She claims they were both taken to Walliams’ dressing room with two other girls aged 16 and 17, and left alone with the star with the door shut.

Ms Tomlinson, now a special adviser to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, would allude to the encounter in a since-deleted viral tweet. She told the investigation: ‘He’s the sort of person who had obviously a lot of access to young women, teenage girls.’

Walliams’ lawyers deny Abby and the other girls were left alone, adding that he hosted guests of different ages, genders and background and that the door ‘remained open at all times’.

BGT production firms Fremantle and Syco, together with broadcaster ITV, said they had never received any complaints about Walliams’ conduct.

Walliams divorces his wife Lara Stone in September citing what he called her ‘unreasonable behaviour’.

At HarperCollins – where Walliams’ children’s books have in sold their millions, earning him seven figures – a member of staff is shown emails in which Walliams allegedly asked a junior colleague to meet with him.

Katie – not her real name – said she approached HR but that ‘nothing ever happened’. HarperCollins has since said it takes staff wellbeing ‘extremely seriously’ and has processes in place for reporting inappropriate behaviour.

Walliams has admitted emailing the junior colleague, saying he was ‘heartbroken and lonely’ after his divorce’, but has denied sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour towards anyone at the publisher.

That year, Walliams wins Best TV Judge at the National Television Awards. 

2016

Walliams allegedly invites another young woman backstage at BGT, having messaged her since she was 17 years old. 

The woman’s friend, an 18-year-old known by the pseudonym Sarah, claims Walliams – then 44 – then began following her on social media and sent her direct messages.

They were invited to stay at his house some weeks later where Sarah claims he tried to kiss her and lead her to his bedroom before her friend intervened.

Walliams has denied trying to force himself on Sarah. However, legal firm Schillings sent a threatening letter to Sarah’s friend some time later, believing she was set to sell an ‘untruthful story’ to the press.

The letter was written by prominent privacy lawyer Jenny Afia, who counts the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Johnny Depp, Adele and Sir Elton John among her past and present clients.

It demanded that Sarah’s friend, at 19 years old, promise within 24 hours not to talk to anyone about Walliams, warning that she was at ‘significant risk of committing a serious civil offence’.

Elsewhere, a female HarperCollins employee claims her manager refused to send any other women to help her at a David Walliams book signing event in order to ‘keep exposure to a minimum’. 

Walliams, who denies harassing HarperCollins staff, once again hosts the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall. 

2017

BGT production worker Mark – not his real name – claims he saw ‘two very young people’ in Walliams’ dressing room with the star, who was only wearing a towel. 

He claims he was later given £300 from Walliams after he did not report his concerns that a senior crew member called ‘hush money’, adding that there was ‘something sexual about how (Walliams) behaved that was uncomfortable’.

Amy, also a pseudonym, claims she overheard Walliams referring to her as ‘the one with the a***’ rather than by name, and that he once stared at her chest. ‘There’s just a vibe you get when someone is being predatory,’ she told the investigation. 

Walliams denies ‘buying’ Mark’s silence and says there was nothing to ‘cover up’, describing the £300 as a tip and his claims as a ‘smear’. He says he does not recall making remarks about Amy, and denies being ‘predatory’ or inappropriate.

He embarked on what his lawyers call a ‘consensual sexual’ relationship with a HarperCollins intern in her mid 20s after she visited his home alone. 

But multiple sources allegedly claim the woman later described the relationship as consensual, but an ‘abuse of power’. HarperCollins’ female employees are said to warn one another against visiting Walliams’ home alone.

In October, Walliams visits Buckingham Palace to collect his OBE for services to charity and the arts, while Sky adapts his children’s book Ratburger as a TV movie in the first of several collaborations.

2018

Walliams wins the National Television Award for Best TV Judge again and begins narrating long-running ITV blooper show It’ll Be Alright on the Night, a role he will hold until 2025.

2019 and 2020

Walliams claims his third and fourth Best TV Judge gongs at the NTAs. But at the 2020 awards, he is booed for a poor taste joke about late presenter Caroline Flack’s career, shortly after she stood down from Love Island following an assault charge.

In this time, he also voices a character in the Golden Globe-winning animated film Missing Link, narrates Channel 4’s animated adaptation of The Tiger Who Came To Tea, and appears in Sky Christmas special Jack and The Beanstalk: After Ever After.

In 2019, the Royal Shakespeare Company adapts The Boy In The Dress as a musical, but plans to take it to the West End are curtailed by Covid. 

And at the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests, the BBC removes Little Britain and Come Fly With Me from streaming services, saying ‘times have changed’ with regards to the shows’ racial stereotypes and use of blackface.

The video of Walliams kissing and undressing an audience member who said they were 16 on the Little Britain Down Under tour resurfaces on social media. 

Users describe the video as ‘unfunny’ and ‘appalling’ – but Walliams would later claim that ‘not a single person complained’ about the act.

2021

Alton Towers opens The World of David Walliams, an attraction themed around his HarperCollins children’s books. Sales of his books are believed to have reached around 40million.

2022

Walliams leaves BGT after recordings of derogatory and sexually explicit comments he made about contestants were obtained and published by The Guardian.

The 2020 recordings captured the judge describing one contestant as a ‘c***’ and said of another: ‘She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t,’ before he made a derogatory reference to his penis.

He apologised for the comments, describing them as ‘private conversations’ that were ‘never intended to be shared’. 

Broadcaster Piers Morgan, who was a judge on BGT between 2007 and 2010 and had a well-documented grudge against Walliams, brands Walliams ‘one of the nastiest frauds in TV’ in a tweet responding to the story.

He also claims, without showing any evidence, that it constituted the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of Walliams’ alleged bad behaviour.

Little Britain returns to BBC iPlayer with scenes of blackface – including those featuring Walliams in a fatsuit as overweight black woman Desiree – removed.

Walliams and Lucas say edits, including trigger warnings, ‘better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape since the show was made’.

The Guardian makes its first approach to Walliams about allegations of inappropriate conduct. The allegations are denied and a story is not published.

2023

In May, The Guardian and ITV News agree to collaborate on an investigation into Walliams.

Fremantle, the producer of BGT, reaches an ‘amicable’ financial settlement with Walliams after he sued the firm for misuse of private information and a breach of data laws after his comments about contestants were leaked.

The firm says it is ‘sincerely sorry’ for the ‘great distress this caused David’, adding: ‘We have enjoyed a great relationship with David over many years.’

Cally Poplak, HarperCollins’ recently appointed new head of children’s books, launches an investigation into Walliams’ conduct after allegations were raised by staff.

At least five female employees are said to give evidence, but it ends in 2024 with no consequences for Walliams. However, one employee who spoke to the internal inquiry was reportedly given a five-figure payout and left the firm.

2025

Walliams is alleged to have made Nazi salutes and sexual hand gestures during a recording of the BBC panel show Would I Lie To You, which is filmed in front of a live studio audience. 

The recording, in June, is for the show’s Christmas special, to air on Boxing Day. 

In December, HarperCollins says it will no longer work with Walliams after a newspaper investigation uncovers claims that he ‘harassed’ junior female staff. 

By this time, more than 60 million copies of Walliams’ books have been sold worldwide after being, translated into dozens of languages. They brought in more than £156million revenue in the UK alone.

Walliams’ lawyers say he was never informed of allegations against him at the publisher, was never given the opportunity to respond to claims and denies behaving inappropriately.

Despite Walliams facing allegations of harassment, the BBC presses ahead with airing Would I Lie To You on Boxing Day with Walliams’ segments intact – minus the offensive gestures.

This year also saw Walliams reunite with Matt Lucas for the first time in 15 years to launch celebrity interview podcast Making A Scene on January 28.

A trailer for the podcast sees Lucas ask his long-time collaborator: ‘Hang on, I thought you were cancelled?’ 

The pair had hinted that they were writing together again but the podcast publishes its last episode and comes to a dead stop, with no explanation, in October.

2026

Walliams appears in the adaptation of his own book, Fing!, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in the US state of Utah.

He is then contacted by reporters from ITV News and The Guardian in May, seeking comment on allegations that he preyed on women and girls for sex.

Walliams is alleged to have attempted to take his own life shortly thereafter, and was admitted to a private psychiatric hospital as a voluntary patient, from which he absconds and makes a second attempt on his life.

He is held under the Mental Health Act until September, when the NHS discharges him after deciding he no longer needs to be detained.

Walliams’ lawyers secure a temporary High Court injunction, banning journalists from naming him.

Instead of relying on the typical defence of privacy, Walliams’ lawyers say the investigation is a risk to his life, and tell the court he attempted suicide twice.

However, Walliams’ name is leaked – and rapidly spreads on social media as the true identity of the man journalists can only refer to as ‘PPT’. 

Among those naming him are users in Scotland, where the court order does not apply without a Scottish equivalent – known as an interdict – being granted as well.

Walliams is dropped by talent agency YMU in September, while Alton Towers announces the closure of The World of David Walliams on November 3. 

At the High Court, a judge refuses Walliams’ bid to keep him anonymous, and gives him until 4.30pm on November 9 to file an appeal. 

Walliams does not file one. The Guardian and ITV News publish their joint investigation the next day.

His literary agency, Independent Talent, immediately drops him from its roster, while HarperCollins says it will withdraw Walliams’ books from future sale.

BGT production firm Fremantle urges anyone with concerns from their time on the show to come forward, promising to take all complaints ‘seriously’; the Labour Party suspends Walliams’ membership; the BBC pulls all of his shows.

In Parliament, justice minister Alex Davies-Jones says the Government is ‘concerned’ about how injunctions are being used. 

The Metropolitan Police contacts The Guardian and ITV News to ensure ‘any potential victims’ are made aware of how to report any ‘criminal allegations’.

And in a statement to journalists, David Walliams denies that he is a sexual predator.

It read: ‘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.

‘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.’