David Walliams was today identified as the celebrity who sought a court order to prevent publication of allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl and targeted several other teenagers.
Walliams, one of the world’s best-selling children’s authors, applied for an injunction blocking publication of the claims. He argued that he would take his own life if the allegations were made public.
The television star and author has been accused of using his profile from Little Britain and Britain’s Got Talent to engage in “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities” with “a large number” of women and girls.
Walliams denies all wrongdoing. In the High Court, he argued that he would kill himself if his identity was disclosed.
Here is a summary of the allegations made against the comedian, all of which he disputes.
Jade
A woman identified as Jade alleges that she was 15 and Walliams was 36 when they began communicating on MySpace and by email in mid-2007. She says they met in person several weeks later, in August that year.
Jade claims Walliams invited her to his home, where he sexually assaulted her. Walliams denies the allegation.
She told journalists: “I didn’t want to be touched in that way at all. I mean, I was only a 15-year-old.”
According to her account, when she said no and pulled away, Walliams agreed that they should wait until she turned 16.
Walliams denies having any sexual contact with Jade and rejects any suggestion of wrongdoing.
Children’s author and television star David Walliams, pictured last month, is accused of using his status to target girls and young women. He denies the claims
Jade, pictured on the right at the time she met Walliams, claims he sexually assaulted her when she was 15 and he was in his thirties
Alex
Another alleged victim, identified as Alex, says Walliams offered to help with her ambition to become a comedy writer when they met at a Little Britain fan event in London in January 2004. She was 15 at the time.
She claims he later called her and that they exchanged emails over several months.
In October 2005, when Alex was 17, she messaged Walliams to say she was attending a London gig with friends and invited him to join them.
The pair resumed exchanging emails. Alex alleges that Walliams pressured her to send sexual photographs and groomed her. He denies both claims.
She says they had consensual sexual contact on three occasions when she was 17 and 18, but claims she “felt unable to say anything or have any control in that situation once I was with him”.
Describing their second meeting, she said: “I just hadn’t ever experienced anything like that before. It felt very … pushy. I felt like a prostitute, essentially.”
Walliams denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers say the suggestion that he groomed Alex is untrue and has caused him significant distress.
The moment Alex, then 15, met Walliams at a Little Britain fan event. Walliams was dressed as his character Lou. She claims he contacted her afterwards and that they began a sexual relationship when she was 17.
Alex, then 15, kept notes, including this excited handwritten entry: “David Walliams phoned me!!!”
Lilly Creightmore
Former model Lilly Creightmore says she was 18 when Walliams first contacted her by sending a card to her home in 2003.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Italian Chef Fired Over Pineapple Pizza Refusal Speaks Out
They became friends, and Walliams allowed her to sleep on his sofa for a period when she was homeless.
Creightmore claims he repeatedly asked her to share his bed. “He definitely crossed the line physically in moments, when I was young, trying to coerce me into sleeping with him,” she said.
She alleges that the comedian attempted to groom her.
Walliams denies behaving inappropriately and said he was “devastated” by her allegations.
A card Lilly Creightmore kept from Walliams
Lilly and Walliams at a celebrity gathering with Jonathan Ross, Ricky Gervais and others. There is no suggestion that any of them knew about the alleged wrongdoing
Lilly claims Walliams became angry after she refused to have sex
Ella
Another model, identified as Ella, says Walliams called her in December 2007, when she was 19. She claims he took her and a friend to dinner before sending her flowers.
In 2008, he invited her to a celebrity party at his home. Ella alleges that he tried to kiss her, placed his head in her lap and “begged” her to stay.
She and her friend left. Ella later said she believed she had “dodged a bullet”.
Walliams said he made “a clumsy pass” at Ella but denied putting his head in her lap. He said he had not intended to make her feel uncomfortable or intimidated.
Sarah
Sarah, a Britain’s Got Talent fan, was invited to watch the programme being filmed by a friend when she was 18. Walliams later invited Sarah and her friends to dinner.
Two weeks later, Sarah and another friend, also 18, were invited to stay at Walliams’s home.
She claims that he tried to kiss her and later attempted to lead her upstairs to his bedroom.
Walliams denies that any sexual contact took place.
Sarah, who was 18, was invited by Walliams to watch Britain’s Got Talent being filmed and posed with him and the other judges. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the judges. Sarah claims Walliams later tried to kiss her after she had been drinking wine while he drank water
Sarah claims Walliams used his Britain’s Got Talent profile to groom her as a teenager and made a pass at her
Abby Tomlinson says Walliams invited her via Twitter when she was 17. She went with a friend who was 13, and they were taken to his dressing room
Abby later posted this tweet in 2020
Abby Tomlinson
Another fan, Abby Tomlinson, claims that she and a 13-year-old girl were left alone with Walliams in his dressing room while the door was closed. His lawyers deny the claim.
Amy
A woman identified only as Amy, who worked on the programme, alleges that Walliams referred to her as “the one with the a**e” and stared at her chest. He denies the claims.
Katie
Katie, who worked for publisher HarperCollins, claims that a young woman showed her a series of “gross” emails allegedly sent by Walliams. Katie and another employee, Helen, also allege that managers avoided sending young female staff members alone to his flat.
