David Walliams children's books pulped
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The gist
Irish bookshops removed David Walliams' children's books after a Guardian/ITV investigation aired grooming allegations.
His remaining catalogue is being pulped and the BBC is reviewing his shows.
Background
David Walliams is a British comedian, actor and children's author, 55, known for Little Britain and as a Britain's Got Talent judge from 2012 to 2022; his children's books have sold millions of copies. HarperCollins, his publisher, dropped him in 2025 after an investigation into allegations that he had harassed young women, and in September 2026 said it would no longer represent his back catalogue. The story escalated after a three-year joint investigation by the Guardian and ITV News was published, with multiple women accusing him of grooming and sexual misconduct; Walliams denies the allegations.
How it unfolded
- 2008Walliams published his first children's book, The Boy in the Dress, with HarperCollins.
- 2022He left his role as a judge on Britain's Got Talent after apologising for making "disrespectful comments" about auditioning contestants.
- 2025HarperCollins dropped Walliams as an author after an investigation into allegations that he had "harassed" young women; his contract was not renewed.
- Sep 18, 2026HarperCollins said it was cutting all ties with Walliams and would phase out remaining copies of his back catalogue; his titles and author page disappeared from its website.
- Nov 10, 2026A three-year Guardian and ITV News investigation was published, with multiple women accusing Walliams of grooming and sexual misconduct; ITV posted a documentary, "David Walliams: Power and Silence", on YouTube.
- Nov 10, 2026Bookshops across Ireland took his children's books off the shelves, and the BBC said it was removing some programmes featuring him and reviewing all material featuring and written by him on its platforms.
Key terms
- injunction
- A court order requiring a party to do or stop doing a specific act.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Walliams says he is "not a sexual predator" and has not broken the law, while acknowledging he "at times behaved thoughtlessly" towards people he had casual sexual relationships with; his spokesperson says he strongly denies behaving inappropriately.
- Media
- Lawyer Gavin Millar, representing the media companies, said the allegations were gathered after "a wide-ranging and rigorous investigation" and that there was a strong public interest in publishing them.
- Court
- Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed the injunction bid, saying it would be an "exceptionally serious interference" with the media companies' rights, while noting Walliams has a serious and longstanding psychiatric vulnerability.
- Public
- A Dublin bookshop manager said "He's going to be pulped, what's left of his catalogue, because no one's ordering the books", and a former HarperCollins colleague said she doesn't want him to "get away with this sort of behaviour".
Still unverified
Some of the alleged conduct could amount to criminal offences if proven, according to a summary of the judgment. Walliams' legal team claimed he would take his own life if the allegations were made public; the judge said his statements were "not a reliable basis for concluding that no future treatment or intervention could alter that risk".