UK publisher drops books by David Walliams

Publishing house HarperCollins UK has said it will no longer publish the back catalogue of British comedian and best-selling children's author David Walliams after he faced allegations of harassing female staff.

"I can confirm that HarperCollins will no longer be publishing David Walliams's backlist," a spokesperson said in a statement sent to AFP.

The move came after the publisher announced in December it would not publish any new titles by Walliams, saying it "takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously".

The Daily Telegraph had published an investigative article in December alleging a junior employee at the publisher had complained about Walliams's conduct, prompting an internal investigation.

As a result, one employee agreed to a financial settlement, the Telegraph wrote.

Walliams's agent said at the time that the author strongly denied inappropriate behaviour.

His website has since been shut down, and his X account with two million followers has not been updated since December.

Walliams rose to fame on the BBC sketch comedy series Little Britain.

As a children's author, he has sold over 60 million copies.

He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal in 2017 for charity fundraising efforts including swimming the length of the River Thames.

Between 2008 and 2025, he wrote a series of children's books published by HarperCollins, including The Boy in the Dress.

Some were televised, and he became one of the UK's best-selling children's authors.

Walliams, real name David Edward Williams, was a judge on Britain's Got Talent, but left the role in 2022 after he apologised for making "disrespectful comments" about auditioning contestants during filming breaks at the London Palladium in January 2020.

In 2023, Britain's Got Talent producer Fremantle apologised and reached an "amicable resolution" with Walliams after the remarks he made while on the show were leaked.

Walliams, who appeared on the ITV talent show between 2012 and 2022, was suing the company for misuse of private information and for breaching UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Source: AFP, Press Association