A clip of Jonathan Ross joking about 15-year-olds “going home with” David Walliams at an awards ceremony has resurfaced after almost two decades.
Walliams, the children’s author and star of Little Britain, was today revealed to be the celebrity who recently brought legal action against media organisations to prevent them from publishing allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Guardian and ITV have now published investigations into Walliams, with one woman describing her encounter with the comedian when she was aged 15 as “sexual assault”.
Another woman alleged that the former Britain’s Got Talent judge had started contacting her when she was 15, later beginning a sexual relationship when she was 17. Walliams has denied any wrongdoing.
TV chat show host Ross compered the British Comedy Awards (later renamed the National Comedy Awards) in December 2004, when Little Britain – which Walliams created and starred in alongside Matt Lucas – was awarded Best TV Comedy.
“The comedy awards is 15 years old – 15 years old! And like most 15-year-olds, it’s drunk, it’s unpredictable, and it’s probably going home with David Walliams,” joked Ross.
Walliams, who was in attendance, was seen laughing at the joke.
Lawyers representing Ross told The Guardian that he did not write the joke himself.
In the weeks leading up to the publication of the allegations against Walliams, he had unsuccessfully sought an injunction in court, citing a risk that he would take his own life following two previous suicide attempts.
The reports were published a day after the deadline to appeal expired.
In a letter addressed to the journalists working on the investigation, Walliams wrote: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with. I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret.
“And 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, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
HarperCollins, the publisher of Walliams’s many successful children’s books, dropped him in December 2025, following an investigation into claims he had “harassed” young women. Walliams strongly denied the allegations.
Earlier this month, a section devoted to Walliams’s creations permanently closed at the amusement park Alton Towers.
Walliams left his role at Britain’s Got Talent in 2022, having apologised for making “disrespectful comments” about contestants during breaks in filming, which took place in January 2020.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
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