# The moment David Walliams’ career started to unravel: Shamed comic was caught making sexually explicit remarks about BGT contestants on mic before stepping down as judge

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-moment-david-walliams-career-started-to-unravel-shamed-comic-was-caught-making-sexually-explicit-remarks-about-bgt-contestants-on-mic-before-stepping-down-as-judge/
- Published: 2026-11-12T17:54:06+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T18:03:44+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16286677/The-moment-David-Walliams-career-started-unravel-Shamed-comic-caught-making-sexually-explicit-remarks-BGT-contestants-mic-stepping-judge.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: UK, World

## Key points

- Walliams left Britain’s Got Talent after private remarks about contestants were published.
- He apologised and reached an amicable resolution with the show’s producers.
- Separate allegations have since prompted renewed scrutiny; he denies criminal wrongdoing.

## Summary

David Walliams’s departure from Britain’s Got Talent in 2022 followed the publication of recordings in which he made derogatory and sexually explicit comments about contestants. The article presents that scandal as an early turning point in his career, which has since faced renewed scrutiny after allegations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls became public. Walliams denies criminal wrongdoing and says he is not a sexual predator.

The recordings were made during breaks at 2020 auditions at the London Palladium; Walliams later apologised and sued the programme’s producers, alleging they had recorded about 1,700 hours of his conversations without his knowledge. The case ended in an “amicable resolution”, with the production company apologising for the recordings becoming public. The article also says investigations into later allegations began in 2022 and 2023; a HarperCollins inquiry concluded in 2024 without consequences for Walliams, though one employee reportedly received a five-figure payout and left the company.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.