David Walliams joked with Russell Brand about pretending to be gay as a “wonderful smokescreen”.
Walliams joined Little Britain co-star Matt Lucas as guest on the pilot episode of The Russell Brand Show on Channel 4 in 2006.
“You’re like the two gayest straight blokes there are, aren’t you?” Lucas told the pair, to laughter from the audience.
“Isn’t it a wonderful smokescreen?” Walliams replied, with Brand adding: “Isn’t it glorious? It works wonderfully well.”
Played for laughs at the time, the exchange has taken a different complexion after Walliams was named as the celebrity who sought an injunction to prevent publication of allegations of historical sexual misconduct, a day after Brand was sentenced to more than 10 years for rape and sexual assault.
The clip has since been reshared by fans on social media.
In a statement, Walliams strongly denied any wrongdoing, saying: “I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law.”
