David Walliams Unmasked as Celebrity Behind Failed Injunction Bid as Guardian and ITV Investigation Lands

Few British entertainers have enjoyed the kind of multi-platform success David Walliams built over more than 20 years. He rose to fame on the BBC sketch show ‘Little Britain’ alongside Matt Lucas, then reinvented himself as one of the country’s best-selling children’s authors, with books that have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide.

For many viewers he was also a fixture of prime-time television, sitting on the judging panel of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ from 2012 to 2022. But the later chapters of that story have been bumpy. He left the talent show after apologising for off-camera remarks about contestants that leaked to the press, and in December 2025 his publisher HarperCollins announced it would not release any new titles by him following a reported investigation into claims he had harassed young women, which he strongly denied.

Now the David Walliams allegations have moved to the center of a far bigger story. On November 10, he was named as the previously anonymous celebrity who had spent weeks fighting in the High Court to stop a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News from being published. The reporting accuses him of using his celebrity status to prey on women and teenagers for sex, and he denies all of it.

The injunction bid collapsed when Judge Matthew Nicklin rejected it. Walliams’s lawyers then confirmed he would not appeal, which cleared the way for publication. Even with his name kept out of the headlines, social media speculation about the mystery star’s identity had been swirling for weeks.

The most striking detail to emerge from the legal fight is the reported warning about Walliams’s mental health. His barrister, Sara Mansoori, told the court he would try to take his own life again if the allegations were published. The court also heard that he had made 2 attempts on his life after the news organisations first put the allegations to him in May, and that he was detained under the Mental Health Act the week before the hearing.

The judge accepted that the risk of suicide was genuine and grave, but ruled that the investigation raised matters of substantial public interest. Reports of the ruling say an injunction would have been an exceptionally serious interference with press freedom. Walliams’s lawyers have argued that his reaction reflects a fear of public shame rooted in childhood trauma rather than any sign of guilt, and he remains in a psychiatric hospital.

The joint investigation draws on 30 sources with first-hand accounts, and reporters say they also reviewed emails, social media messages, contemporaneous notes and newspaper articles. The allegations stretch back to 2003 and include claims from 2 women who say they first met Walliams when they were 15 years old and describe being groomed. Other accounts come from young models and fans, aged between 17 and 22 at the time, who say he messaged them out of the blue on social media.

Several people also describe alleged harassment of young women in the workplace. Walliams has denied every allegation, including any suggestion of criminal behaviour, and says he has never groomed young women. In a letter to the journalists, he acknowledged that he sometimes behaved thoughtlessly toward people he had casual relationships with, while insisting he never abused his power.

The professional consequences were already stacking up before the story broke. TMZ reported that Walliams was removed from the upcoming UK film project ‘The Road to Nevermore’ after the allegations began to surface, citing a source close to the production. That follows a run of setbacks since late last year, including his removal from the lineup of the Waterstones Children’s Book Festival and a BBC statement that it had no future projects directly involving him.

The production companies behind ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ITV have each said they were not aware of any complaints about him. HarperCollins, for its part, pointed back to its earlier statement that it takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously. Walliams’s legal team has also reportedly said he has no intention of returning to public life.

For now, everything in the investigation remains an allegation that Walliams firmly rejects, and the fallout is likely to keep unfolding in the weeks ahead. What is already clear is that the story has forced difficult conversations about celebrity power, press freedom and the duty of care owed to everyone involved.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!