David Walliams

David Walliams

Real name: David Williams
Date of birth: 20-08-1971
David Walliams – born Williams but forced to change his name for Equity resons – was raised in Banstead in Surrey, educated at Reigate Grammar School, then joined the National Youth Theatre, where he met comedy partner Mattt Lucas, and both went on to study drama at the University of Bristol.

His first TV appearance was in a Sky One show Games World and he also played Jake Plaskow in the BBC drama series Attachments.

But he is almost exclusively known for his partnership with Matt Lucas, which started on the stand-up circuit, before making it onto TV with the 1999 UK Play series Rock Profiles. They recorded their first of two series of Little Britain for Radio 4 in 2001, and it transferred onto BBC Three in 2003.

In July 2006, Walliams swam the English Channel for the Sport Relief in 10 hours and 34 minutes, one of the top 50 recorded times.

He lives in Noel Gallagher's former home, Supernova Heights, in Belsize Park, North West London.

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David Walliams dropped by his publisher

Comic and writer 'strongly denies he has behaved inappropriately'

Publisher HarperCollins UK has dropped David Walliams from its roster – stats g that it will not republishing any more of his bestselling children’s books. 

A spokesman for the publisher told the BBC: ‘After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams.’

The Daily Telegraph had been conducting an investigation into allegations that the Little Britain star behaved inappropriately towards young women.

Walliams’s agent told the newspaper: ‘David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by Harper Collins. 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.’

Walliams has sold more than 60 million copies of his books worldwide in 55 languages, since his first – The Boy in the Dress – was published in 2008. Some have also been adapted into television films. In 2019 it was estimated that he and his publisher had sold £100m worth of books.

He previously left Britain's Got Talent after making ‘disrespectful comments’ – and later sued the production company over the recording of the remarks being leaked. He reached an out-of-court settlement.

HarperCollins UK appointed Kate Elton as its new chief executive in October.

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Published: 19 Dec 2025

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Agent

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