The latest: High Court lifts gagging order on television star
LONDON — November 10, 2026.
David Walliams, the celebrated British comedian, former Britain's Got Talent judge, and best-selling children's author, was publicly named Tuesday after losing an exhaustive three-year High Court battle to permanently suppress investigative reporting detailing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, predatory grooming, and power abuse.
The lifting of reporting restrictions marks the climax of a joint investigation conducted by The Guardian and ITV News. The broadcasters prepared a comprehensive dossier featuring on-the-record and corroborated accounts from multiple women who allege inappropriate sexual advances and exploitative behavior spanning more than two decades, including one woman who alleges Walliams sexually assaulted her when she was 15 years old.
Walliams, 55, had obtained emergency interim anonymity in 2023 under the pseudonymous heading of 'ABC v Independent Television News and Guardian News & Media'. In a landmark ruling made public Tuesday following the expiration of an appellate window, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed Walliams' application for a permanent injunction, finding that the public interest in investigative journalism into allegations of serious wrongdoing overwhelmingly outweighed the entertainer's right to privacy.
Human rights defense rejected by Senior High Court judge
In his attempt to block publication, Walliams’ legal team mounted an extraordinary legal defense under Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights—which protect the right to life and prohibit inhuman or degrading treatment. Senior barristers argued that public disclosure of the allegations would precipitate a severe mental health collapse, presenting clinical psychiatric evidence regarding previous depressive episodes, hospitalization, and suicidal ideation.
However, Mr Justice Nicklin rejected the argument that media reporting could be treated as a violation of Article 2 by the press. The judge ruled that granting a wealthy public figure permanent immunity from investigative journalism on grounds of psychological distress would create an untenable precedent for the English legal system, acting as an “exceptionally serious interference” with freedom of expression under Article 10.
“The proper response to psychiatric vulnerability is professional clinical management, not the suppression of lawful, public-interest journalism into allegations of significant gravity,” the judge observed. A temporary stay granted by the Court of Appeal lapsed Tuesday morning when no further appeals were filed, paving the way for full publication.
The investigation's findings and Walliams' emphatic denial
The joint investigation by ITV News and The Guardian presents testimonies from several women who encountered Walliams in theatrical, social, and television settings between 2004 and 2021. The central allegation involves a woman who claims Walliams initiated contact when she was an aspiring 15-year-old performer, cultivating her trust before allegedly subjecting her to an unconsented sexual encounter in a private vehicle.
Other women cited in the reporting detailed persistent unwanted sexual contact, inappropriate messages sent from position of professional authority, and retaliatory blackballing after rejecting personal overtures. Publishers of his best-selling children's books, which have sold over 56 million copies globally, announced they were reviewing the disclosures with urgency.
Walliams released a lengthy statement fiercely refuting any criminal or predatory conduct. “I am not a sexual predator. I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity, and I have not broken the law,” Walliams stated. While maintaining his innocence against all allegations of criminality, Walliams acknowledged regrets over his personal history: “Looking back on past casual relationships from different eras of my life, I recognize that I sometimes acted thoughtlessly, foolishly, and failed to consider how my actions might affect others. For that, I offer my unreserved apologies, but I will not accept false accusations of criminality.”
