UK police open investigation into David Walliams over serious sexual offence allegations

London's Metropolitan Police has opened an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences against British comedian and children's author David Walliams, who denies the allegations and says he has not broken the law.

The force said in a statement on Friday that it "has received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s". Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney urged anyone affected to come forward.

The police said the new allegations are separate from those reported this week by ITV News and The Guardian. The two news organisations published reports on Tuesday in which several women accused Walliams of sexual misconduct, with the allegations dating back as far as 2003.

Walliams, 55, has denied the claims. In a letter to ITV and The Guardian, he wrote: "Whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did." He added: "I am not a sexual predator ... I have not broken the law."

What the police said

The Metropolitan Police did not name Walliams in its statement, in line with its usual practice before any charge is brought, but the timing and the description of the man involved left little doubt about the subject of the investigation.

The statement was short and gave no details of the allegations themselves, beyond describing them as non-recent serious sexual offences. That phrase covers alleged incidents that are said to have taken place years ago, rather than in the recent past — a pattern common in investigations that follow media reporting, where people who say they were affected long ago decide to come forward once others have spoken.

Cagney's appeal for others to contact the police is a standard step in such cases, and it often determines how far an investigation goes. Detectives will now assess the accounts they have received and decide whether there is enough evidence to interview Walliams formally and to pass a file to prosecutors.

No arrest has been announced, and no charges have been brought. Under British law, Walliams is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and the existence of a police investigation does not by itself establish that any offence took place.

Three years of reporting

The investigation follows a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV, which said they spoke to more than 100 people during three years of reporting. One woman said Walliams sexually assaulted her at his London home when she was 15, while others accused him of grooming them as teenagers. The reports also included allegations that he harassed young female colleagues.

The reports were published after Walliams lost a High Court bid to block the media outlets from naming him. The judge, Matthew Nicklin, said an injunction would be "an exceptionally serious interference" with the media's rights.

The timing of the reports added to their impact. They came out a day after comedian Russell Brand was sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for rape and sexual assault, a case that had already put the British entertainment industry's handling of sexual misconduct back in the headlines.

Walliams's response to the reporting was uncompromising. Beyond his denial of criminal wrongdoing, he rejected the suggestion that he had exploited his fame, drawing a line between the power imbalance that comes with celebrity and the abuse of that power.

A career unravels

The professional consequences for Walliams have already been severe, and they arrived before the police investigation was announced. A spokesperson for the BBC told the AFP news agency that it had taken down some shows involving Walliams, including all episodes of Little Britain, the comedy sketch show that made him famous.

His literary agency, Independent Talent Group, said it was "no longer representing him in any capacity". His publisher, HarperCollins, dropped him last year, following accusations that he harassed female staff, which he had also denied.

The speed of the fall is striking for a figure who, for two decades, occupied a central place in British popular culture. Walliams rose to fame as a comedian with the sketch shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, and he later became a judge on ITV's Britain's Got Talent, one of the most-watched programmes on British television.

He also built a second career as a children's author, penning books that have reportedly sold more than 50 million copies, including Mr Stink, Gangsta Granny and The Boy in the Dress. Those books made him one of the best-selling children's writers in Britain and a familiar presence in schools and libraries.

Whether any of that career can be rebuilt will depend on the outcome of the police investigation and on the judgement of the broadcasters, publishers and audiences who once sustained it. For now, the investigation is at its earliest stage, and the only certainty is that one of Britain's most famous entertainers is now the subject of a criminal inquiry into allegations he firmly denies.