Met opens David Walliams investigation into separate sexual offence allegations

The most important boundary in that announcement is explicit: the allegations brought to police are separate from those previously reported by ITV News and The Guardian. Detectives are also examining that earlier journalism for possible evidence of offences. Those are two strands of investigative work, not interchangeable accounts of what prompted the inquiry.⁠2

Specialist officers are supporting the people who have come forward, and Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney’s team is leading the investigation. Police have not supplied an exact number of allegations or complainants, dates for the alleged incidents, or locations where they allegedly occurred. “Non-recent” is the description police have given; it is not a date range.⁠2

That wording matters. The announcement establishes that a criminal investigation is under way, not that investigators have proved an offence. Equally, the review of published allegations is not a police endorsement of them: detectives say they are examining whether the reporting contains evidence.

Walliams became famous through the BBC sketch comedy Little Britain in the early 2000s, later served as a judge on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent and built a bestselling children’s book career. The earlier media investigation concerned allegations about his behaviour towards women and girls, including in settings connected with his television and publishing work.⁠3

According to the BBC’s account, the allegations became public after Walliams lost a legal attempt to prevent their publication. Some women accused him of grooming them as teenagers. One woman described an alleged encounter when she was 15 as sexual assault. Walliams strongly denied having any sexual contact with her, denied grooming young women and rejected allegations of criminal activity.⁠3

The earlier reporting also included allegations of unwanted sexual advances. Women alleged inappropriate behaviour connected with Britain’s Got Talent, including invitations to his dressing room. The media investigation further alleged that he had a sexual relationship with at least one junior employee at HarperCollins and pursued another employee. These are allegations from the published reporting, not details police have attributed to the separate complaints underlying their announcement.⁠3⁠2

Walliams’s detailed public response addressed that earlier journalism. In a letter to the journalists, he wrote: “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.” His reference to that period does not date the separate allegations made to police.⁠3

He also acknowledged regret about his conduct in casual sexual relationships, writing: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.” He continued: “I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret.”⁠3

On the question of celebrity and power, his position was a denial of abuse: “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.” Those expressions of regret should not be read as admissions to the alleged offences.⁠3

Deutsche Welle reported on November 13 that neither Walliams nor his lawyer had responded specifically to the police investigation. A later response addressing that separate investigation has not been established in the reporting available through November 15. His existing denial therefore should not be presented as a statement answering allegations whose details police have not disclosed.⁠1

There have already been professional consequences. Deutsche Welle reported that the BBC removed content featuring Walliams from its platforms, including Little Britain, and that HarperCollins UK dropped him in 2025 after The Telegraph reported allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women at the publisher. Those decisions are distinct from any determination of criminal liability.⁠1

Cagney’s appeal makes clear that the passage of time need not prevent someone from contacting investigators. “We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened,” he said. He acknowledged that reporting can be daunting and said specialist officers can provide support, answer questions and guide people through the process.⁠2

People with information do not have to make their experiences public before speaking to police. In the UK, the Met says they can call 101 and quote reference 4900/10NOV26, or contact the Complex Sexual Offences Unit directly on 0207 175 2738. That is the practical invitation accompanying the announcement: a route to investigators, while the central question—what evidence of offences they establish—remains unresolved.⁠2