So what DID Britain’s Got Talent bosses know about David Walliams’ behaviour? KATIE HIND reveals he hosted teenage girls in his dressing room but producers said nothing – one fan later asked, ‘Why did I ever think it was normal?’

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Britain’s Got Talent was a hugely popular Saturday night show, and David Walliams was one of its main judges. When he invited a young fan backstage to be a special guest in his dressing room, she was thrilled to accept – it was an opportunity she couldn’t turn down.

In May 2015, a 17-year-old girl excitedly took selfies with David Walliams, then 44, after reaching the semi-finals of the competition. She and a friend enjoyed treats like cupcakes and fizzy drinks with the comedian and popular author backstage.

The girl was thrilled to get attention that day. It’s understandable – any teenager would be excited to be noticed by David Walliams, especially with so many other people at the Britain’s Got Talent show!

Perhaps even more unexpectedly, despite their nearly 30-year age difference, that day began a strange but lasting friendship between the young woman and the Britain’s Got Talent judge, a friendship that continued for an entire year.

He supported her career goals, remembered to call her on her eighteenth birthday, and welcomed her into his family by introducing her to his mother and sister.

She even spent a night at his £3.5million London home.

However, even before news broke last week about David Walliams being dropped by his publisher HarperCollins due to claims of inappropriate behavior with young women, she already viewed their entire friendship in a new light.

In 2020, five years after the initial events, the woman – whose name we are withholding – shared details on social media about her experiences with David Walliams.

She shared a photo of herself with three friends, taken behind the scenes at Britain’s Got Talent while visiting David Walliams’ dressing room during the semi-finals. However, the message accompanying the photo wasn’t a typical, excited tribute from a fan.

Honestly, looking back, I’m still reeling from what happened. I can’t wrap my head around how a 44-year-old man thought it was okay to have four 16 and 17-year-old girls alone with him in a dressing room – with only his assistant popping in with drinks! What really gets to me, though, is that everyone at the production company saw this happening and just…said nothing. It’s just unbelievable.

In a separate social media post, the woman shared a photo of David Walliams in a hallway at the ITV studios and revealed he used to text her frequently.

In a social media post from the same year, the woman stated that many people were aware of young women being invited into a specific judge’s dressing room.

Back then, no one reported on her posts. David Walliams was still a popular judge on a major TV talent show and was receiving praise for his successful children’s books, like Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy.

However, last week accusations surfaced claiming David Walliams acted inappropriately towards young female colleagues at HarperCollins, the publisher of his books. He strongly denies these claims.

It will no longer release any more new titles by Walliams.

He reportedly left the company after accusations of harassing younger female colleagues. It’s been said that one employee received a substantial financial settlement and then resigned.

Just to be clear, the young woman who shared online about being friends with Walliams hasn’t accused him of any similar misconduct.

Looking back, The Mail on Sunday reports she became increasingly uncomfortable with him spending time with a much younger fan, feeling it wasn’t appropriate.

The woman and David Walliams first connected around three months before the Britain’s Got Talent semi-finals in 2015. She had requested tickets to a Birmingham audition through an online forum.

When she arrived at the Hippodrome theatre to record the show, she was given a prime seat right near the judges – only a few feet behind David Walliams, Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, and Amanda Holden.

The woman and David Walliams struck up a conversation, and soon after, the comedian found her on Twitter and started following her. The teenager was thrilled, describing the experience as making her feel ‘giddy’ and nearly faint.

But the best, as she then saw it, was yet to come.

David Walliams reached out to her on Twitter, inviting her to be a guest at the show’s semi-final, which was being filmed at ITV’s Fountain Studios in Wembley on May 26, 2015. He asked her to contact his assistant to arrange travel details.

At first, the woman believed the offer was a joke. But when she realized it was serious, she and a friend traveled to London from their home, which was about 100 miles away. They stayed in an inexpensive hotel overnight. According to a source, she immediately told her friends, and the invitation quickly became the main topic of conversation within their group.

She was shocked she’d attracted so much attention. Since they weren’t old enough to drink alcohol, David offered them a variety of soft drinks instead.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve seen a lot of events, and this one was truly magical for the women there. It was a relaxed atmosphere – occasionally, a producer would pop in to mingle and chat with everyone, which added a nice, casual touch.

That evening, the woman told David she dreamed of being a TV producer. He advised her to write to his company, King Bert, and ask about getting some work experience.

After a week had passed and she still hadn’t applied, David Walliams reached out to her on social media to get her phone number so he could follow up and encourage her to submit it. From that point on, they started communicating regularly, according to a friend.

David Walliams asked her to return to Birmingham for the Britain’s Got Talent auditions in October 2015, and he invited her to meet him beforehand at the Hotel du Vin, a luxury hotel in the city where he was staying.

She brought a male friend along, and while David Walliams was having his makeup applied, he treated them both to burgers and fries.

People who know the woman say David Walliams made jokes, and after they finished their chocolate ice cream, they went to the Hippodrome. While in a taxi, the woman took selfies with the group.

The next month, he took her to see a stage adaptation of his popular children’s book, Gangsta Granny, at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.

In December, Walliams requested the woman’s address to send a Christmas card. The card included a photo of him with his son, Alf, who is now 12, taken during his marriage to model Lara Stone – a marriage that had ended earlier that year.

The card featured a cartoon drawing of a large polar bear and a smaller one, with the text ‘Alfred Bear and Papa Bear’.

The woman posted a photo of the Christmas card online, sharing that it was the first one he’d ever sent her. The card featured a picture of David kissing their son.

The friend remembers that David Walliams called her on her 18th birthday and sang a personalized version of Happy Birthday. They were close enough that she also met Walliams’s mother, Kathleen, and sister, Julie, as she later shared online.

In February 2016, she and a friend stayed overnight at his London house, Supernova Heights, which he’d purchased from Noel Gallagher of the band Oasis back in 2005. They enjoyed a meal of ravioli and visited Buckingham Palace as tourists.

Let me tell you, I recently had the most amazing afternoon! I was treated to a spa day at the Bulgari hotel in Knightsbridge – seriously dreamy! I decided to focus on the little things and pampered myself with a brow shaping and a fresh manicure. It was exactly what I needed to recharge and feel polished.

She later shared a photo of herself at the spa, playfully asking, ‘Who do you think treated me to this?’ The day ended with a cozy night in, where David Walliams chose to watch the classic horror film, The Shining.

Their friendship gradually faded away in 2016. However, by 2020, she had started to view it with different eyes and shared her thoughts in a series of social media posts.

Some of David Walliams’s friends believe his relationship may have started because he was lonely. He and his wife, Lara Stone, separated in 2015 and were quickly divorced that September, with the divorce citing Stone’s unreasonable behavior. This was also the year his friendship with the other person began.

But whatever the reason, it has left the woman still feeling uncomfortable all these years later.

Last week, following statements from HarperCollins, David Walliams’s representative stated that David was never told about any concerns HarperCollins had about his behavior. He wasn’t involved in any investigation and wasn’t given a chance to respond to any questions.

‘David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.’

A representative for Talkback Thames, the company that makes Britain’s Got Talent, stated that there’s absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone on their team, and suggesting otherwise would be untrue and damaging to their reputation.

Representatives for Mr Walliams were contacted for comment.

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2025-12-21 04:55