BBC confirms no future projects with David Walliams after alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’
Children’s author and comedian, David Walliams, will not be ‘directly involved’ in any future projects with the BBC, as it stands.
He was dropped by his publisher, Harper Collins, after allegations that he ‘harassed’ junior female employees.
Walliams, 58, ‘strongly denies’ the allegations, according to a statement via a spokesperson, and plans to ‘take legal advice’.
Now, the BBC has made an announcement following the accusations.
A spokesperson for the organisation said in a statement provided to Metro: ‘While we’re not making any changes to the festive schedules, we have no future projects directly involving David Walliams.’
After the report by The Telegraph alleging inappropriate behaviour towards young women, eyes turned to the BBC, who have scheduled content coming up with David over the festive period.
The organisation is still planning to air the controversial David Walliams Would I Lie To You Christmas special on Boxing Day.
During filming for the show in June, he was filmed doing two Nazi salutes, which the BBC and the production company, Banijay UK, apologised for.
At the time, Banijay UK and the BBC called it ‘completely unacceptable’ and the production company said: ‘It was immediately acknowledged during the recording that this segment would not be broadcast under any circumstances.’
Children’s channel, CBBC, is also airing Mr Stink and The Boy in the Dress today, both of which are based on Walliams’ novels.
Meanwhile, the author has been pulled from an announced appearance at Waterstones’ annual children’s book festival in February, with fans unable to buy tickets over the weekend.
‘HarperCollins have confirmed that David Walliams will no longer be appearing at our festival in Dundee,’ a spokesperson for the bookseller told the Telegraph.
In 2022, the BGT judge was removed from his role on the show after leaked recordings showed him making offensive remarks about the contestants.
The leaked transcript, picked up on a hot mic, revealed Walliams called one auditioning contestant a ‘c**’ and said of another: ‘She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t’.
Afterwards, he publicly apologised for the ‘disrespectful comments’, saying he never intended for the private conversations to be shared.
He also reached a settlement with the production company Fremantle after suing them for misuse of private information and breaching data laws.
A statement provided to The Telegraph from HarperCollins about being dropped from the publishers said: ‘The author is aware of this decision.
‘HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns.’
The Telegraph investigation also claimed that one employee who raised concerns about the former Britain’s Got Talent judge was given a five-figure payout and subsequently left the company.
A spokesperson for Walliams told PA: ‘David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by Harper Collins.
‘He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.’
The prolific writer started his publishing career in 2008 and has since released over 40 children’s books, including bestsellers such as Gangsta Granny.
Elsewhere, his sketch comedy series with Matt Lucas, Little Britain, has faced mounting criticism over the years, with fans branding certain characters ‘explicitly racist’ and slamming the use of blackface.
The pair apologised for the latter in a statement on Twitter in 2020 where they said: ‘Matt & I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races.
‘Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong & we are very sorry.’
Discussing cancel culture in 2024 after the Would I Lie To You debacle, he called it ‘exhausting’.
He told The Daily Telegraph at the time: ‘Things that are explosively funny are often on the edge, aren’t they?. [The issue] is complicated, but you just look at each joke as it comes really.
‘Obviously, if you were worried about every single thing you said or did might offend someone, that you wouldn’t be able to say or do anything on stage.
‘I kind of think people haven’t lost a sense of humour in the way that it’s often portrayed.’
Metro has reached out to BBC and David Walliam’s representatives for comment.
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