London’s Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation on Friday into comedian and children’s author David Walliams over multiple new complaints of alleged historical sexual offences. Detectives from the force’s complex sexual offences unit opened the probe after several people came forward to police this week with claims, some dating back to the 2000s, following media reporting on Walliams’ past conduct.
In a statement Friday reported by The Guardian and ITV News, the force confirmed it had received a “number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s,” adhering to U.K. police policy of not naming suspects before charges are brought. The shift moves the claims against Walliams, 55, from a media exposé into an active police investigation while broadcasters, publishers, and film distributors pull back from his work.
What the Metropolitan Police are investigating
According to the Met, the complainants gave initial accounts to officers from the force’s specialist crime division in recent days, providing enough detail for detectives specializing in serious and complex sexual offences to open a formal criminal investigation. The force said the complaints under investigation are separate from those detailed earlier this week by The Guardian and ITV News, though detectives are also reviewing that reporting to determine whether it points to any criminal offences.
Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney, who leads the complex sexual offences unit conducting the inquiry, said specialist officers are supporting the individuals who came forward. Police declined to specify when or where the alleged offences took place in order to prevent the complainants from being identified, noting that people who report sexual offences are entitled to lifelong anonymity under British law.
Officers have not carried out any property searches as part of the inquiry. Walliams has not been arrested and is currently in a medical facility, according to The Guardian.
Walliams’ denial and entertainment industry fallout
Walliams has denied any wrongdoing or abuse of power and has not spoken publicly since Tuesday. In an earlier letter sent to journalists investigating his conduct, Walliams wrote that he regretted behaving thoughtlessly at times in casual sexual relationships and not always taking other people’s feelings properly into account. He added: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
As background, The Guardian and ITV News published earlier grooming allegations on Tuesday after High Court Justice Matthew Nicklin rejected Walliams’ legal attempt to block publication. That three-year investigation drew on 30 first-hand sources and more than 100 interviews, detailing accusations from two women who said they felt groomed after meeting Walliams when they were 15, alongside claims that he pursued young women through the family television show Britain’s Got Talent and at his former children’s book publisher, HarperCollins.
Since Tuesday’s reports appeared, Walliams has been dropped by his literary agency, the BBC has begun removing his programs from iPlayer, and the Labour Party has suspended his membership. Producers of the upcoming film adaptation Fing!, based on Walliams’ 2019 children’s book, also cut his cameo appearance and excluded him from the movie’s release and promotion, while U.K. distributor Sky dropped the film, the Associated Press reported. HarperCollins UK had previously ended its publishing relationship with Walliams in December 2025 after internal complaints involving junior female employees.
Cagney encouraged anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to contact police regardless of when it occurred. The Met said information can be reported by calling 101 and quoting reference 4900/10NOV26, or by calling the complex sexual offences unit directly on 0207 175 2738.