David Walliams Named After Failed Injunction Bid as Guardian and ITN Publish Investigation

Updated 16:14 UTC

The BBC is removing programmes featuring or written by David Walliams from iPlayer while it reviews all of his material on its platforms. A BBC spokesperson said: "These are serious allegations. As such, the BBC is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms. We are in the process of removing some programmes, including Little Britain, whilst this review is underway." Little Britain and Come Fly With Me are unavailable on iPlayer, and a 2020 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Walliams has also been taken down, LADbible and The Sun reported.

His literary agency, Independent Talent Group, said it is no longer representing him. ITG told the Press Association: "ITG is deeply disturbed by the allegations concerning David Walliams. Our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected. We are no longer representing him in any capacity." The Sun reported that ITG had represented Walliams for around two decades. The Labour Party suspended Walliams as a party member on Tuesday, Hello Magazine and The Sun reported, and Hello reported that Downing Street described the allegations as "deeply troubling".

Fremantle, which produces Britain's Got Talent, said: "We are disturbed and concerned at these serious allegations." The company said Walliams has not been a judge on the show for more than four years, that no complaint about his behaviour was ever made to Fremantle UK during his time on the show or in the period since, and that anyone who feels they were the subject of impropriety or wrongdoing should come forward. Walliams denies all of the allegations.

LONDON. Comedian and children's author David Walliams, 55, can now be named as the man who tried to stop the reporting of allegations against him through a court injunction. He had been granted anonymity during the court proceedings. That anonymity was lifted after his injunction bid was dismissed, and Guardian News and Media and Independent Television News published their joint investigation on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. The investigation accuses Walliams of sexual misconduct and potential criminal activity. Walliams denies all of the allegations.

The court case

Walliams brought legal action against ITN and Guardian News and Media, the publisher of The Guardian, before the two organisations reported the allegations against him. Lawyers for the media organisations told the High Court in London that the allegations involved an alleged abuse of power and status to contact young women and try to engage in inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities. Those are allegations from the investigation. Walliams denies them.

Mr Justice Nicklin refused the injunction on November 3, 2026, ruling that blocking publication would be an "exceptionally serious interference" with freedom of expression. The judgment runs to 52 pages. A temporary order kept Walliams anonymous while he decided whether to appeal. The appeal deadline of 4:30 p.m. on November 9 passed with no appeal filed, so his name could be published on November 10.

His lawyers argued that he sought the injunction because of a risk that he would take his own life, citing long-term trauma and a fear of trial by media. The judge said hospital care meant the state had assumed responsibility for his immediate safety, which reduced that risk.

The investigation

The Guardian and ITN investigation began in 2022. Gavin Millar KC, for the media organisations, told the court that reporters had spoken to more than 100 people, including more than 30 sources with first-hand accounts. He called it a wide and rigorous investigation with a strong public interest in publication.

Some of the allegations date back to 2003. One woman described an alleged encounter with Walliams when she was 15, and several other women accused him of grooming them when they were teenagers. Every one of those accounts is an allegation, and Walliams has denied the allegations made against him.

In a statement to The Guardian, reported by Page Six, Walliams said: "Looking back, I realize that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with." He also said a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, but added: "abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something I never did."

Career and fallout

Walliams is a former Britain's Got Talent judge, known for Little Britain and Come Fly With Me alongside Matt Lucas. His children's books, including The Boy in the Dress and Gangsta Granny, have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. He left Britain's Got Talent in 2022 after apologising for disrespectful comments about auditioning contestants.

His book publisher, HarperCollins, dropped him in December 2025, after an investigation into allegations that he had harassed young women. Walliams strongly denied those allegations. Earlier this month, the theme park Alton Towers permanently closed its World of David Walliams attraction.

No criminal charge against Walliams has been reported in these accounts. The court case in London was his own injunction claim, and it was dismissed. The Guardian and ITN documentary, David Walliams: Power and Silence, airs on ITV on Tuesday night at 10:50 p.m. and is available on the ITV News YouTube channel.