David Walliams: Power & Silence to air tonight on ITV with allegations against the author and comedian
The investigation reveals allegations dating back to 2003
ITV News’ documentary David Walliams: Power & Silence will air tonight, the broadcaster has confirmed.
The gruelling investigation alleges that the comedian and author “preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes”.
Today (Tuesday, November 10), the public learned that David Walliams was the celebrity who had tried to block the publication of sexual misconduct allegations against him. His lawyers had attempted to prevent the allegations from becoming public. They argued that the publicity would cause irreparable harm to his mental health. They also claimed it could potentially lead him to take his own life.
ITV has now announced that it will air the new documentary David Walliams: Power and Silence, following a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian.
David Walliams: Power and Silence documentary on ITV
The ITV documentary will reveal the investigation into David Walliams. We now know the allegations date back to 2003. The former Britain’s Got Talent judge “preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes”, according to the allegations.
Multiple women have accused Walliams of “grooming” them when they were teenagers. One says he began contacting her when she was 15, after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event. They subsequently started a sexual relationship when she was 17.
David Walliams also faces allegations of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at Britain’s Got Talent and publishing house HarperCollins.
He denies all allegations.
David Walliams ‘denies all allegations’
In a statement, David Walliams said: “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.”
‘No complaint has ever been made’
Britain’s Got Talent production company Fremantle UK has now responded to the ITV documentary about David Walliams. They said: “David Walliams left Britain’s Got Talent four years ago. During his time on the show, and in the four years since, no complaint has ever been made – either to Fremantle UK, the broadcaster or regulator. We are not aware of any complaints having been made to any other external authority regarding his behaviour.
“Nevertheless, if anyone feels they have been the subject of any impropriety or wrongdoing by anyone, we encourage them to come forward. We will treat any complaints seriously and investigate thoroughly and to the best of our ability. This has long been our policy in terms of protecting employees, freelancers, contributors and fans and absolutely remains paramount in our thinking and actions as a responsible television production company.”
Syco Entertainment, the company that created BGT, said: “Syco Entertainment had no knowledge of the allegations described.”
Meanwhile, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams.
