David Walliams Accused of Grooming Teenage Girls After Losing Court Battle to Block Investigation
For months, the identity of a famous British entertainer fighting to prevent a major sexual misconduct investigation from being published was hidden behind three letters: PPT.
On Tuesday, November 10, the name finally became public. It was David Walliams.
The 55-year-old comedian, former Britain's Got Talent judge and bestselling children's author is facing serious allegations from women who say he used his celebrity status to pursue them sexually, including two who say they were just 15 when he first contacted them.
The accusations were uncovered during a three-year investigation by ITV News and The Guardian. Journalists contacted more than 100 people, obtained accounts from over 30 sources with firsthand knowledge of Walliams' alleged behavior, and examined emails, messages and other records dating back more than two decades.
Walliams denies the allegations, including grooming, sexual assault, harassment and abusing his position.
One woman, identified under the pseudonym Alex, says she first encountered Walliams at a Little Britain fan event in January 2004. She was 15, still attending school and hoping to become a comedy writer.
Alex handed him copies of scripts she had written, along with her contact information. Days later, Walliams called her at home.
The call meant so much to the teenager that she immediately wrote down their conversation. The handwritten notes, subsequently examined by The Guardian, describe Walliams praising her writing and discussing the possibility of helping her career.
Emails obtained by the investigators show the two remained in contact. By October 2005, when Alex was 17, the conversations had taken a different turn.
Walliams complimented photographs she sent him, asked for additional pictures and made suggestive remarks. Alex alleges he later requested sexually explicit photographs and that their relationship became sexual in the spring of 2006.
She says she visited his London home on three occasions and had sex with him while she was 17.
Alex described the encounters as consensual at the time, but now believes she was groomed. She says the age difference, his fame and her hopes of entering the entertainment industry created a significant imbalance between them.
Walliams' lawyers dispute her account of the relationship's development. They say he believed Alex was 18 when their contact resumed, deny that he groomed her and say he does not recall asking for sexual photographs.
Another woman, identified as Jade, alleges Walliams contacted her through MySpace in 2007 when she was just 15.
According to Jade, the comedian initiated a private conversation, obtained her phone number and began communicating with her regularly. She was excited that someone she recognized from television had taken an interest in her.
The two eventually arranged to meet at a cafe in London's Soho neighborhood. Jade says Walliams asked about her sexual history before kissing her and inviting her to his house.
Once inside, she alleges he initiated sexual touching that made her uncomfortable. She says she pulled away and that he stopped.
Jade, now in her 30s, considers what happened to be sexual assault and grooming.
Walliams categorically denies having any sexual contact with Jade. His lawyers reject the allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
The investigation also includes accounts from adult women who describe unwanted attention, persistent advances and uncomfortable encounters with the comedian.
One woman, Sarah, says she was 18 when she met Walliams during filming of Britain's Got Talent in 2016.
She and a friend later accepted an invitation to his home, where Walliams allegedly attempted to kiss her despite her lack of interest.
Sarah says she became heavily intoxicated during the evening and that Walliams began helping her upstairs. She believed he was leading her toward his bedroom rather than the guest rooms where she and her friend were supposed to sleep.
Her friend intervened and took her to a separate room.
Walliams' lawyers dispute that account. They deny he attempted to take advantage of Sarah, say he does not recall anyone being drunk and maintain there was no sexual contact.
Eight months later, Sarah's friend received a letter from lawyers representing Walliams after discussing her experiences with other young women.
The letter warned of possible legal consequences if she disclosed private information about him and demanded a written undertaking within 24 hours.
Walliams' representatives say the letter was sent because they believed the woman was preparing to sell an account he considered untrue. They also cited concerns about the impact on his family.
But the allegations are not confined to encounters in his private life.
Behind the scenes at Britain's Got Talent, production staff had reportedly discussed Walliams' contact with younger female employees.
WhatsApp messages obtained by the investigators show staff expressing concern about his behavior toward female production assistants, commonly called runners.
One 19-year-old employee showed colleagues messages and social media comments she had received from Walliams. Another former staff member recalled a young woman asking how she should respond after the famous judge allegedly asked her out.
Walliams denies sexually harassing female employees or behaving inappropriately at work.
The show's production companies, Fremantle and Syco, say they were unaware of the allegations and had received no complaints concerning him. ITV said Fremantle had confirmed that no complaint had been made to the production company.
There were concerns at HarperCollins, too.
The publisher, which helped turn Walliams into one of Britain's most successful children's authors, reportedly received complaints about his conduct toward younger female employees years before ending its relationship with him.
According to the joint investigation, Walliams began a sexual relationship with a junior employee in 2017. His lawyers describe the relationship as consensual. Sources told reporters that the woman subsequently regarded it as an abuse of power.
Another employee reportedly raised concerns after a younger colleague received unwanted invitations from Walliams.
An internal inquiry began at HarperCollins in late 2023. At least five female employees reportedly discussed their experiences, and managers were informed about the relationship involving the junior employee.
The inquiry concluded in 2024 without consequences for Walliams, according to The Guardian. One woman who participated subsequently left the company with a reported five-figure settlement and a confidentiality agreement.
HarperCollins continued publishing Walliams' books until December 2025, when it announced it would no longer release new titles by the author. In September 2026, the company said it would also stop publishing his existing catalog.
Walliams denies workplace harassment and previously said the allegations behind the publisher's internal inquiry had never been put to him.
By then, journalists had already been investigating his conduct for years.
When ITV News and The Guardian approached Walliams for comment in May 2026, the matter escalated into a legal battle over whether their findings could be published at all.
Walliams sought a potentially indefinite High Court injunction against the two news organizations, arguing that publication posed a grave threat to his life.
The court heard medical evidence concerning his psychiatric condition and two suicide attempts following the journalists' requests for comment. His legal team argued that preventing publication was necessary to protect his life and family relationships.
On November 3, High Court judge Mr. Justice Nicklin rejected the application.
The judge accepted that the risk to Walliams was genuine and serious. However, he concluded that the proposed injunction would interfere profoundly with freedom of expression, preventing the news organizations from reporting matters of substantial public interest and restricting the women's ability to tell their stories.
Walliams was initially protected by anonymity while an appeal remained possible.
His lawyers confirmed they would not appeal before the November 9 deadline. The allegations were published the following day.
The court's decision did not establish that Walliams committed sexual misconduct. The judge expressly stated that he had not determined whether the allegations were true.
In a written response to the investigators, Walliams acknowledged that he had sometimes behaved thoughtlessly in casual relationships and regretted not taking other people's feelings sufficiently into account.
He nevertheless denied ever exploiting the power that came with his celebrity status.
"I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law," he wrote.
Walliams, who became internationally known through Little Britain before building a hugely successful career writing children's books, had already experienced several professional setbacks.
He left Britain's Got Talent after offensive comments he made about contestants were published in 2022. He apologized for those remarks.
His publishing deal ended in 2025, and the Alton Towers theme park recently confirmed the closure of its World of David Walliams attraction, although the park attributed that decision to its regular review of attractions rather than the newly published allegations.
The ITV News documentary David Walliams: Power and Silence has now brought the women's accounts and the failed legal battle to a wider audience.
Walliams continues to deny grooming, sexual assault, harassment and other wrongdoing. The allegations have not been proven in criminal court.
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