![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_188522172-ea04-e1766163784382.jpg\")
\n\t\tDavid Walliams has been dropped by his publisher Harper Collins (Picture: David Hartley\/Rex\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tDavid Walliams has been dropped by his publisher Harper Collins (Picture: David Hartley\/Rex\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
David Walliams<\/a> has experienced a turbulent 2025, faced with several controversies and allegations of misconduct.<\/p>\n The BBC<\/a> made a statement about his future with the station<\/a>, saying in a statement provided to\u00a0Metro: \u2018While we\u2019re not making any changes to the festive schedules, we have no future projects directly involving David Walliams.\u2019<\/p>\n Most recently, he was\u00a0dropped by his publisher<\/a>, Harper Collins, after allegations that he \u2018harassed\u2019 junior female employees, which Walliams has strongly denied<\/a>.<\/p>\n It has also been confirmed that earlier this year, he stopped being an ambassador for The Children\u2019s Trus<\/a>t.<\/p>\n A spokesperson told the Mail<\/a>: \u2018After a review of our ambassador programme earlier in the year, David Walliams is no longer an ambassador of The Children\u2019s Trust.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tGet personalised updates on Britain’s Got Talent\t\t\t<\/p>\n Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro\u2019s TV Newsletter.<\/p>\n Sign up to our newsletter<\/a> and then select your show in the link we\u2019ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.<\/p>\n The controversies have seen Walliams go from a beloved household name and regular face on our TV screens to an uncomfortable topic, marred with sensitive themes.<\/p>\n \t\t Walliams\u2019 career began in the 90s when he performed Mark Gatiss\u2019 Doctor Who audio play, Phantasmagoria, in 1999.<\/p>\n In 2005, he joined the likes of Simon Pegg<\/a>, Lucy Davis, and Lauren Laverne in a video for Charlotte Hatherley\u2019s single Bastardo, and in the same year, presented the documentary David Walliams: My Life with James Bond.<\/p>\n But his breakthrough came with Little Britain, his comedy series with Matt Lucas<\/a> that began in 2000 as a radio series.<\/p>\n Little Britain, which began in 2003, propelled Walliams and Lucas to stardom<\/p>\n TV and film success<\/p>\n \t\t Following his time on Little Britain<\/a>, Walliams nabbed several high-profile gigs that saw him reach stratospheric heights of fame.<\/p>\n It was around this time that he married Lara Stone, a Dutch model, but the couple divorced in 2015 after being married for just five years.<\/p>\n In 2012, he joined the judging panel of Britain\u2019s Got Talent alongside Alesha Dixon and guest-judge Carmen Electra, replacing short-term judges Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff.<\/p>\n Around the same time, Walliams joined the sports-based comedy quiz series A League of Their Own, appearing in eight episode between 2012 and 2016.<\/p>\n Taking his success on Britain\u2019s Got Talent global, he began a brief stint as a judge on Australia\u2019s Got Talent \u2013 he was replaced by Bruno Tonioli on the British version.<\/p>\n \t\t In 2015, he brought back one of his classic Little Britain characters when he appeared in Comic Relief\u2019s Red Nose Day as Lou Todd alongside Stephen Hawking.<\/p>\n In the same year, he launched his BBC sketch show Walliams and Friend, which also starred Joanna Lumley and Morgana Robinson.<\/p>\n He presented the Royal Variety performance a year later, a Christmas special episode of Blanety Blank, and also joined the cast of the rebooted children\u2019s TV series Teletubbies.<\/p>\n In 2019, Walliams became the host for the National Television Awards, taking over from Dermot O\u2019Leary when he stepped down after 10 years.<\/p>\n He has won numerous accolades across his career, including a Pride of Britain Award in 2006 for most influential public figure. This came after raising \u00a31.5million for Sport Relief by swimming the English Channel.<\/p>\n \t\t At the\u00a0National Television Awards in 2012, Walliams won the landmark achievement award for his work in TV and his accomplishments in aid of Sport Relief.<\/p>\n He has also received awards for his children\u2019s books, including the Specsavers children\u2019s book of the year three years running between 2012 and 2014.<\/p>\n Between 2015 and 2019 he was recognised three times at the National Television Awards for being the best judge on reality TV that year.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWhat are the allegations against David Walliams?\t\t\t<\/p>\n Walliams is said to have faced accusations of \u2018harassing\u2019 junior female employees at the publishers Harper Collins.<\/p>\n The allegations were investigated by the company.\u00a0It is understood that Walliams did not know about the Harper Collins investigation, but has since been dropped by the publisher.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Harper Collins employee had reportedly received a five-figure payout after raising concerns about his behaviour, and subsequently left the company \u2013 this is according to reports in the\u00a0The Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n Walliams \u2018strongly denies\u2019 these allegations, according to a statement via a spokesperson.<\/p>\n Cracking the publishing world<\/p>\n \t\t Walliams wrote his first book in 2008 after signing a deal with the publisher and has gone on to\u00a0become one of the UK\u2019s highest-earning authors<\/a>.<\/p>\n A number of his titles, including Gangsta Granny and Mr Stink, have also been made into films for the\u00a0BBC<\/a>, while the books have been included in McDonald\u2019s Happy Meals giveaways.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was estimated that\u00a0Walliams had sold \u00a3100million worth of books for Harper Collins<\/a>, as of 2019.<\/p>\n It was then announced he had been dropped from Harper Collins, with a spokesperson telling Metro: \u2018After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams.\u2019<\/p>\n A statement to The Telegraph additionally noted: \u2018The author is aware of this decision. HarperCollins takes employee well-being extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters.\u2019<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Walliams told PA: \u2018David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by Harper Collins.<\/p>\n \u2018He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.\u2019<\/p>\n A string of controversies<\/p>\n \t\t Little Britain has faced mounting criticism over the years, with\u00a0fans branding certain characters \u2018explicitly racist\u2019\u00a0<\/a>and slamming the use of blackface<\/a>.<\/p>\n The\u00a0pair apologised<\/a>\u00a0for the latter in a statement on Twitter in 2020 where they said: \u2018Matt & I have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races.<\/p>\n \u2018Once again we want to make it clear that it was wrong & we are very sorry.\u2019<\/p>\n Matt Lucas and David Walliams have previously admitted the show<\/a>\u00a0could be problematic, and would be very different if it were made today.<\/p>\n \u2018Basically, I wouldn\u2019t make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I\u2019d do now,\u2019 he told Big Issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Walliams said of the series in 2018: You\u2019d definitely do it differently because it\u2019s a different time now,\u2019 pointing out that Little Britain first came together nearly 20 years ago as it initially started on radio.<\/p>\n He said: \u2018It\u2019s hard to say specifically how it would be different. There\u2019s all kinds of tolerances that change. People understand people\u2019s predicaments more now. Maybe it\u2019s, \u201cwe see this differently, we\u2019ve got more information,\u201d and it would be a different type of joke.\u2019<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Got Talent<\/p>\n In 2022, the BGT\u00a0judge was removed from his role on the show\u00a0<\/a>after leaked recordings showed him making offensive remarks about the contestants.<\/p>\n The leaked transcript, picked up on a hot mic, revealed Walliams called one auditioning contestant a \u2018c**\u2019 and said of another: \u2018She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don\u2019t\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t He later\u00a0apologised for his offensive comments<\/a>, stating: \u2018I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain\u2019s Got Talent in 2020.<\/p>\n \u2018These were private conversations and \u2013 like most conversations with friends \u2013 were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.\u2019<\/p>\n He also reached a settlement with the production company Fremantle<\/a> after suing them for misuse of private information and breaching data laws.<\/p>\n \u2018Racist\u2019 and \u2018fat-shaming\u2019 books<\/p>\n David Walliams\u2019 best-selling children\u2019s books have been accused of \u2018racism\u00a0and fat-shaming.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Food writer Jack Monroe posted a lengthy Twitter thread on X<\/a> dissecting the pages and the themes within.<\/p>\n The writer and activist drew comparisons between the character Ping Pong in The World\u2019s Worst Parents books and Ting Tong from David\u2019s popular BBC series Little Britain, which also starred Matt Lucas.<\/p>\n In 2021, a story titled Brian Wong, Who Was Never, Ever Wrong, about a Chinese boy, was removed from Walliams\u2019 book The World\u2019s Worst Children series after concerns over racial stereotyping.<\/p>\n Raj, a shopkeeper who features in many of Walliams\u2019 books, has also been criticised widely as a lazy stereotype.<\/p>\n Would I Lie To You Christmas special<\/p>\n The BBC is still planning to air the controversial\u00a0David Walliams<\/a>\u00a0Would I Lie To You\u00a0Christmas\u00a0special on Boxing Day<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n During filming for the show in June,\u00a0he was filmed doing two Nazi salutes<\/a>, which the BBC and the production company, Banijay UK, apologised for.<\/p>\n \t\t The salutes occurred while Walliams\u2019s teammate \u2013 Call the Midwife actress Helen George \u2013 who was recalling the time she sprained her wrist during the Strictly Come Dancing tour in 2015 \u2018from waving too much\u2019.<\/p>\n As she tried to convince David Mitchell\u2019s team that the anecdote was true, she started re-enacting the waving, which is when Walliams joined in with his own exaggerated flailing, resulting in the Nazi salute.<\/p>\n After being reprimanded by the host, Rob Brydon, the filming moved on but as lewd jokes were swapped, Walliams then repeated the action but this time with a \u2018sexual twist\u2019.<\/p>\n Got a story?<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278504279-6e8d.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe actor and author has denied the allegations (Picture: David M. Benett\/Getty)
\nComedic breakthrough<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-117133328-9810.jpg\")
\n\t\tMatt Lucas and David were a comedy team for more than 15 years (Picture: Phillip Massey\/FilmMagic)<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_133210585-0e7e-e1766409685286.jpg\")
\n\t\tWalliams made a name for himself on Britian\u2019s Got Talent (Picture: Dymond\/Thames\/Syco\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-454624524-e5a3.jpg\")
\n\t\tWalliams married Lara Stone in 2010, divorcing in 2015 (Picture: Dave Benett\/Elton John AIDS Foundation\/WireImage)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278506938-6c3f.jpg\")
\n\t\tWalliams won numerous awards as an author (Picture: David M. Benett\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_270094013-d3e2.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe good times were affected by controversies (Picture: Beretta\/Sims\/Shutterstock)
\nLittle Britain<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEI_278777773-c707.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe star faced controversy in 2022 (Picture: Ken McKay\/ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SEC_278562180-2340.jpg\")
\n\t\tDavid Walliams will appear in a repeat of the 2024 Would I Lie To You Xmas special on Boxing Day (Picture: BBC)<\/p>\n
\nMORE: Britain\u2019s Got Talent winner Lost Voice Guy shares hospital photo after \u2018splitting head open\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: Inside David Walliams\u2019 life as he\u2019s set to spend Christmas without son Alfred<\/a><\/p>\n