London police say they are investigating allegations of past abuse against children’s author and TV personality David Walliams.
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London police have launched a sex-offence investigation into children’s author and TV personality David Walliams after receiving a number of allegations of past abuse, the Metropolitan Police said Friday.
Police said they have received allegations following a joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian, and are investigating different claims than those reported by the outlets, while also looking at the stories for any evidence of other crimes.
According to the reports, one woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by Walliams at his London home when she was 15, while others accused him of grooming them when they were teens.
Walliams, 55, has denied the allegations. In a written statement provided to ITV and The Guardian, he said he was “devastated” that some women he met “10 to 20 years ago” have expressed hurt or anger, and added that while 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.”
Police said specialist officers are available to support victims, answering questions and guiding people through the process, noting that reporting allegations of this nature can be daunting.
Walliams is best known as a co-creator and co-star of the TV comedy sketch show “Little Britain” in the 2000s. He has also written dozens of children’s books, with more than 40 titles published and more than 60 million copies sold worldwide, according to his website.
Among related developments, producers of “Fing!,” an upcoming film based on Walliams’ book, said Tuesday they removed his cameo appearance and that he “will have no involvement in the film’s release or promotion,” with Walliams credited as a co-writer.
U.K. distributor Sky said it was dropping the movie, and Angel Studios—the U.S. distributor—did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Walliams was reportedly dropped last year by publisher HarperCollins after allegations of inappropriate behaviour, and he stepped down as a judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.
The Met said Walliams sought a court injunction to prevent the news outlets from identifying him, but a judge rejected the application, describing such a measure as “an exceptionally serious interference” with media rights.
The reports about Walliams were published a day after British actor-comedian Russell Brand was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, following court cases that had included joint investigation work by The Times and Channel 4.
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