ITV has announced that it will air new documentary David Walliams: Power and Silence, following a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian.
The investigation reveals allegations dating back to 2003 that the former Britain's Got Talent judge "preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes".
Multiple women have accused Walliams of "grooming" them when they were teenagers. One says he began contacting her when she was 15, after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event, before starting a sexual relationship with her at 17.
View oEmbed on the source websiteWalliams is also accused of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at Britain's Got Talent and at the publisher, HarperCollins.
Walliams denies all allegations.
In response to the investigation, Walliams said: "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.
"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...
"I am not a sexual predator... I have not broken the law... I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."
In response to ITV News and The Guardian’s investigation, Britain's Got Talent production company Fremantle UK said: "David Walliams left Britain’s Got Talent four years ago. During his time on the show, and in the four years since, no complaint has ever been made - either to Fremantle UK, the broadcaster or regulator, and we are not aware of any complaints having been made to any other external authority - regarding his behaviour.
"Nevertheless, if anyone feels they have been the subject of any impropriety or wrongdoing by anyone, we encourage them to come forward. We will treat any complaints seriously and investigate thoroughly and to the best of our ability. This has long been our policy in terms of protecting employees, freelancers, contributors and fans and absolutely remains paramount in our thinking and actions as a responsible television production company."
Syco Entertainment, the company that created BGT, said: "Syco Entertainment had no knowledge of the allegations described and was not made aware of them at the time."
ITV, which broadcasts BGT, said in a statement: "We are very sorry to hear about the concerns that have been raised. BGT is produced for ITV by Fremantle, an independent production company. Although ITV is the broadcaster of the programme, the producer has day to day responsibility for the running of the production, including all aspects of duty of care, and for ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory obligations as well as ITV’s production and compliance guidelines."
In response to the investigation, HarperCollins said in a statement: "HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision. HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. To respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on internal matters."
In September, HarperCollins announced it would no longer publish Walliams's back catalogue, a little under a year after it had dropped the comedian after allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
A spokesperson for the publisher said at the time: "After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams."
A spokesperson for Walliams said in a statement: "David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins. He 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."
David Walliams: Power and Silence airs on Tuesday 10 November at 10:50pm on ITV. It is available to watch now on ITV News YouTube.
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