David Walliams accused of sexual relationships with teenage fans, denies wrongdoing

David Walliams, one of Britain's best-known comedians and authors, has been accused of using his celebrity status to pursue young women for sex. Multiple women made the allegations in a joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News. Walliams denies any wrongdoing.

One of the women, given the pseudonym Alex, said she was 15 in January 2004. She had just returned from school and was watching television at home when the phone rang. The caller said, 'Hi, it's David Walliams. You know, off the telly!' Walliams was then 32 and a rising star with the comedy sketch show Little Britain.

A few days earlier, Alex had been to a fan event where Walliams was signing autographs in character as Lou. Alex, who dreamed of becoming a comedy writer, had given him printouts of scripts she had written, including a cover letter with her contact details. She did not expect him to get in touch.

She was so excited by the call that she immediately wrote an account of the conversation across four sides of A4 paper. She wrote, 'David Walliams phoned me!!' Walliams had praised her scripts as very funny. When Alex told him she was still at school, he asked in surprise, 'Right, so you're, what, 15, 16?'

Over the next two years, they spoke on the phone a couple of times and exchanged many emails, Alex says. Walliams also talked about getting her tickets to watch a live performance of Little Britain. By the time she was 17, she says, they were having sex.

The Guardian reports that another woman, called Jade, alleges she too met Walliams when she was 15, and that weeks after he first made contact he invited her to his house and initiated sexual contact. Most of the women say they were over 18 when they had interactions with Walliams, but some say their experiences as teenagers left them traumatised.

The allegations are not limited to personal relationships. Several sources described inappropriate behaviour towards women in the workplace, at the prime-time show Britain's Got Talent and at his publisher HarperCollins.

In September, HarperCollins announced it would no longer publish Walliams' extensive back catalogue, having dropped its bestselling author last year. The Guardian and ITV News report that the publisher severed ties after concerns were raised about his behaviour over several years, including an allegation that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee and pursued another.

Earlier this year, Walliams' lawyers took a case to the high court to try to stop the allegations being published. The case was dismissed, so the women's stories can now be revealed.

In a letter to the journalists working on the investigation, Walliams wrote: '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.' He added: 'I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.'

Walliams, 55, is one of the most famous comedians and writers in the UK and an OBE recipient. His big break was Little Britain, the sketch show he created with his comedy partner Matt Lucas, first for BBC Radio 4 and later for television. He spent about a decade as a much-loved judge on Britain's Got Talent and became a top-selling children's author.

In December 2004, Little Britain won the top accolade at the British Comedy Awards. At the ceremony, the host Jonathan Ross opened the show with a joke pointedly referencing Walliams, which has now come under fresh discussion. Ross, responding through lawyers, said he did not write the joke himself. The report says HarperCollins and those connected with Britain's Got Talent were approached for comment.