David Walliams: Highs and lows of star's life in showbusiness

David Walliams was until several years ago one of UK showbusiness’s biggest stars, with hit TV shows and a hugely successful children’s writing career.A true household name, Walliams appealed to family audiences as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent and was dubbed the heir apparent to Roald Dahl with dozens of best-selling books. His sketch comedy shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, written alongside fellow comedian Matt Lucas, had millions of viewers. But after damning revelations and allegations he lost his role at BGT, and has lost his publishing contract with HarperCollins. He denies the claims.Here is a look at his life and showbusiness career.David Walliams rocketed to fame in the early 2000sPA ArchiveRise to fameDavid Walliams was born David Williams to his parents Peter and Kathleen in Wimbledon, south west London. He tweaked his stage name to differentiate from a peer with the same name at his theatre school. He later joined the National Youth Theatre in 1990 where he met his future comedy partner and friend Matt Lucas. After a few small television appearances, Walliams and Mr Lucas skyrocketed to fame with their comedy sketch show Little Britain, which was broadcast on BBC 4 for three seasons between 2003 and 2006. Little Britain stars David Walliams (left) and Matt Lucas in 2006PA ArchiveThe show was an instant hit and its popularity led to Comic Relief commissions and a two-part Christmas special in 2006, as well as a live travelling stage show. A decade later in 2010, Walliams and Lucas launched a second mockumentary television series, Come Fly with Me. The parody show saw a whole host of A-listers make guest appearances, including Geri Halliwell, David Schwimmer, Rupert Grint, and Barbara Windsor. Read MoreThe series was commissioned for a second season, but Lucas refused to partake, according to Walliams in 2013, prompting the series to be cancelled. But this did little to stop Walliams’ continued rise in the showbiz world.. A household name Walliams proved that he had intergenerational appeal, pivoting from adult humour in Little Britain to a second career as a children’s author. In 2008, his first book The Boy in the Dress was released and applauded by critics for its tolerance, freedom, and positivity. The book’s illustrations by Quentin Blake led many to draw comparisons between Walliams and Roald Dahl. What followed was dozens more novels, short story collections, and picture books. Some, like Mr Stink and Billionaire Boy were adapted into musicals and screenplays, gaining worldwide recognition. The books were translated into 53 languages and by 2018, he was the UK’s single biggest-selling author, making up 40% of all best-selling children’s books sold that year. David Walliams was dubbed the heir apparent to Roald Dahl, selling millions of children’s booksGettyCelebrity philanthropist In addition to his work on Comic Relief, Walliams participated in a number of deep-water swimming stunts in aid of various charities. He raised £1million in 2006 for Sport Relief after swimming the 21-mile course of the English Channel and just two years later, swam down the Strait of Gibraltar in another charity effort for the same organisation. Famously, he suffered from sea-sickness during the swim, throwing up in the strait. But his toughest challenge was the 140-mile swim down the Thames from Gloucestershire to London. He raised more than £1million in the widely publicised Big Splash Challenge for Sport Relief in 2011. Walliams was also named as an ambassador for a number of charities including Cardiac Risk in the Young, Rainbows Children’s Hospice, and the Children’s Trust, and was awarded an OBE by the late Queen in 2017 for his services to charity and the arts. David Walliams swimming the course of the Thames in 2011Jeremy SelwynBritain’s Got Talent From 2012, Walliams took his place on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent, alongside Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and Simon Cowell. He appeared on television screens around the country every Saturday and quickly became a hit among family audiences. From unpredictably pressing the Golden Buzzer to his quick-witted banter with head judge Simon Cowell, his role on the panel saw him win Best TV Judge four times at the NTAs in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020. David Walliams alongside fellow judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Alesha Dixon in 2022PAMost famously, Walliams hit the Golden Buzzer for Lorraine Bowen in 2015 after she performed her self-composed song “The Crumble Song”. The catchy tune had been given the red buzzer by all three of the other judges, but Walliams sent her straight through to the semi-final. The song later exploded and was even played on BBC Radio 1 by Nick Grimshaw because of its sudden popularity. Lara Stone David Walliams’ and his ex-wife Lara Stone during the 56th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on October 21, 2012GettyWalliams began dating Lara Stone in 2009, marrying her in 2010 at Claridge’s in London. The couple share one child together - born in May 2013 - and lived in a house formerly owned by Oasis star Noel Gallagher in Belsize Park. The pair divorced five years later in 2015, with Walliams citing “unreasonable behaviour”. Walliams has called himself “Britain’s most famous bi-curious comedian” and has said he has experimented with men in the past. He has also hinted at being pan-sexual and suggested in 2024 in a podcast with Josh Szeps that he’d identify as non-binary if he were younger. Public apologyMatt Lucas and David Walliams on the Graham Norton ShowPA ArchiveAlmost two decades after the release of Little Britain and one decade after Come Fly with Me, Walliams and Matt Lucas were forced to issue a public apology for their parady sketch shows. Despite becoming cultural phenomenons and attracting 10 million viewers at their height, the legacies of the shows faced criticism. Audiences have vocalised concerns about portrayals of marginalised groups and people with disabilities, as well as potentially harmful stereotyping. The shows also used blackface which sparked national outrage from media outlets and prompted the BBC to pull the shows from iPlayer in 2020. The programmes have since returned to the streaming platform, but have been heavily edited to remove the racist and offensive characters. Walliams issued a public apology alongside Mr Lucas in 2020, explaining that both “regretted” that they played characters of other races. The World of David Walliams By then, Walliams had already carved a new path for himself outside of his career as a comedian. His work as a children’s author had earned him his own attraction at Alton Towers, eponymously named The World of David Walliams. The attraction was inspired by his books, featuring Gangsta Granny: The Ride, and other exhibits themed around his fictional stories. But the attraction was not meant to be, with Alton Towers confirming the attraction would be permanently closed from November 3, 2026. David Walliams at the World of David Walliams PA ArchiveLeaked audio The wheels began to come off in 2022 when leaked audio revealed that Walliams had made sexually explicit and derogatory remarks about a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent at an audition show at the London Palladium in 2020. The television personality was recorded referring to one contestant as a “c***” and saying of another: “She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t.” He added: ““I know, she’s just like: ‘Oh, f***off!’ I was saying, she thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t. It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like: ‘Yep, I bet you do!’ ‘No I don’t!’ I had a bit of a boner, but now it’s going, it’s now shrivelled up inside my body.”His comments were picked up by microphones used to record judges’ comments for spin-off shows and behind the scenes footage. Whilst those comments were not intended for broadcast, the leaked audio forced Walliams to issue an apology. In a statement, he said: : “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”The language was deemed inappropriate by the production company Fremantle and later David Walliams left the show, being replaced by Bruno Tonioli. The hot-mic incident triggered a row between producers and Walliams, with the latter suing the former for breach of data, misuse of private information, financial loss, and psychiatric harm. They reached a resolution in 2023 with Fremantle issuing an apology for leaking the private conversations. Dropped by charityIn December 2025, it emerged Walliams was no longer an ambassador for The Children’s TrustThe children’s author and Little Britain star started working with the charity in January 2018, but the organisation confirmed it had parted way with the 58-year-old star ‘earlier this year’.A spokesperson told the Mail: ‘After a review of our ambassador programme earlier in the year, David Walliams is no longer an ambassador of The Children’s Trust.’HarperCollins All of Walliams’ books had been published by HarperCollins as part of a long-term partnership with the publisher. However, in December 2025, Walliams was dropped by HarperCollins following an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour and harassment towards junior female staff members. David Walliams arriving for Britain’s Got Talent auditions in 2022 PA ArchiveThe Telegraph reported that some junior staff were kept away from Walliams, while others were advised to work in pairs when meeting him. At the time, a spokesperson for HarperCollins said it had decided not to release any new titles by Walliams "after careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO", though the publisher did not give a reason for its decision. A spokesperson for Walliams said he had "never been informed of any allegations raised against him" by his publisher."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," the spokesperson added.He was also set to appear on the festive edition of Would I Lie to You? on BBC, set to air on Boxing Day that year. The BBC decided to air the episode but confirmed it did not have any future projects with Walliams. Just months before, Walliams had faced controversy after appearing to make two Nazi salutes on the same programme. In September 2026, HarperCollins went a step further and severed all ties with Walliams, halting sales of his books entirely.