David Walliams faces public exposure after the High Court in London dismissed his legal bid to suppress allegations of misconduct, The Irish Times reported.
The 55-year-old television personality and author attempted to block publication through a lifelong injunction.
Mr Justice Matthew Nicklin ruled that granting the gag order would represent an exceptionally serious interference with freedom of expression. The judgment cleared the way for a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News to publish accounts from 30 sources.
Lawyers for Walliams argued that publication would trigger severe self-harm. The court heard he was sectioned the week before the hearing and remained in a psychiatric hospital.
The judge acknowledged the grave risk of suicide but stated that the state was taking effective measures to protect him through inpatient psychiatric treatment. He concluded that the public interest in publishing allegations of serious wrongdoing outweighed the grounds for suppression.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing, according to his legal team. He maintains he never engaged in grooming young women or breaking the law.
In a personal letter to journalists, Walliams wrote that he behaved thoughtlessly at times with casual sexual partners. He stated that while a power imbalance is inevitable with fame, abusing that power is something he never did. He added that he was devastated some women he met decades ago expressed hurt or anger.
The joint investigation uncovered claims from multiple women who alleged Walliams used his celebrity status to pursue them when they were teenagers. Two women stated they were 15 years old when they first met him, describing experiences that affected them for nearly two decades.
The Guardian and ITV News reviewed emails, social media messages, contemporaneous notes, and newspaper articles. Sources included young models and fans aged 17 to 22 who said Walliams messaged them unexpectedly on social media.
A spokesperson for HarperCollins stated the company decided not to publish any new titles by Walliams and takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously. Production companies behind Britain’s Got Talent and broadcaster ITV stated they were not aware of any complaints regarding Walliams.
Walliams previously left Britain’s Got Talent in 2022 after apologising for making disrespectful comments about auditioning contestants. Producer Fremantle later apologised and reached an amicable resolution with him in 2023 after those remarks leaked.
Mr Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed the attempt to block publication, ruling that an injunction would severely violate press freedom. The judge noted that the state was already protecting Walliams through inpatient psychiatric care.
The Guardian and ITV News conducted a joint three-year investigation incorporating accounts from 30 sources with first-hand knowledge of his conduct.
Walliams denies all allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming, maintaining through his lawyers that he broke no laws and never abused his celebrity status.
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