David Walliams Named as Celebrity Accused by Young Women, Denies Claims
David Walliams, the comedian and British children's author, was named on November 10, 2026 after losing a court bid to keep his identity secret. Multiple women allege he abused his celebrity status to prey on them. He strongly denies the claims and says he has not broken the law.
David Walliams, the comedian and British children's author, was named on November 10, 2026 as the celebrity accused of sexual misconduct by multiple young women, after he failed to keep his identity secret in a U.K. court. He strongly denies the allegations.
The women allege Walliams "abused his power and position as a celebrity to prey on them for sexual purposes when they were teenagers or young women." That claim comes from a joint investigation by British media organizations. Some of the women say they were as young as 15.
What the women allege
One woman described an alleged encounter with Walliams, which she said happened when she was 15, as a "sexual assault." The age of consent in the U.K. is 16. Walliams's lawyers say he denies any sexual contact with her and call the allegations of serious criminal conduct false.
Another woman said she was 15 when Walliams first contacted her and that they were having sex by the time she was 17. His lawyers say he understood her to be 18.
His response
Walliams says he is "not a sexual predator" and has "not broken the law." In a letter to the journalists, he wrote that at times he "behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with." He added that he regrets not always taking people's feelings into account.
"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," he wrote.
The court battle
Walliams tried to block publication, arguing it would create a serious risk to his life through suicide. In a judgment dated November 3, Judge Matthew Nicklin accepted that publication would substantially increase that risk but dismissed the application. The court did not decide whether the allegations are true.
His lawyer, Sara Mansoori KC, argued that naming him was "highly likely" to lead him to try to kill himself. She said he had previously attempted suicide twice and had "no intention of returning to public life."
Gavin Millar KC, representing the media outlets, said the case risked "dragging judges into assessing the causes of suicidal ideation, which are for professionals and not for a judge."
Who Walliams is
Walliams rose to fame on the BBC comedy show Little Britain. He was a judge on Britain's Got Talent from 2012 to 2022 and left after apologizing for "disrespectful comments" about contestants. He received an OBE in 2017.
As an author, he has reportedly sold 60 million books worldwide, including Gangsta Granny and The Boy in the Dress. His publisher, HarperCollins, dropped him in December 2025 after an investigation into inappropriate behavior toward young women. In September it announced it would stop publishing his back catalog.
