'I was shaking': David Walliams accuser on moment she received 'threatening' legal letter

Many of the women ITV News and the Guardian have spoken to asked for their identities to be protected. Some fear legal retaliation from David Walliams, or damage to their careers. Their pseudonyms are marked with an asterisk.

A woman has told ITV News and the Guardian she was "shaking" when she received a "threatening" letter from David Walliams' lawyers after she tried to warn others about him.

Zara* was a teenage fan who met Walliams at a Britain's Got Talent recording in 2016.

After she says she was trying to warn other young women about him later online, she received a warning from the TV star's lawyers.

The letter read: “We act for David Walliams. Let us be absolutely clear: you are at a significant risk of committing a serious civil offence should you disclose, to the press or any other third party, private information concerning our client... Should you disclose our client's private information... he will be entitled to issue a legal claim against you."

When the letter landed in the 19-year-old's email inbox, Zara said she was "shaking" as she read it.

"It was just really threatening... I was like bloody hell what have I done?" Zara said.

"They just kept going on about signing something. They started ringing me then... messaging me... they wanted it like immediately... they wanted reassurance that I wasn't gonna retell anyone."Walliams says he believed Zara was planning to sell a false story to the papers.

Watch ITV News’ documentary, David Walliams: Power and Silence, on ITVX and YouTube

Zara's story is part of a three-year joint investigation by ITV News and the Guardian, which revealed allegations dating back to 2003 that Walliams preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes.

Walliams denies all allegations against him, including any criminal activity, stating: “I am not a sexual predator... I have not broken the law”.Similar processes are used within the publishing industry and ITV News knows of at least one woman who spoke to an inquiry launched by Walliams' former book publisher, HarperCollins, where he was accused of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment of staff.

The woman signed a separation agreement with a non-disclosure clause and received a five-figure sum.

Philip Jones, Editor at The Bookseller, has worked in publishing for three decades and believes the revelations from ITV News and the Guardian's investigation can provoke change within HarperCollins and the industry as whole.

"I think it's probably the biggest scandal I've seen," he said.

"People are sitting there with NDAs who've seen stuff and haven't spoken out so far - they should waive those NDAs and let people be up front and honest about what happened to them.

"This is a moment where the entire sector needs to stop burying their heads in the sand and do something."

"There's a sense that, I think, it's being condoned," he added.

"I spoke to a former HarperCollins executive and they sort of shrugged their shoulders and said 'boys will be boys', which I think is a terrible statement to make given the damage that's been done to the young women that you've reported on."

Walliams says he never acted inappropriately or harassed young women at HarperCollins.

In a statement to ITV News and the Guardian, the publisher said: "HarperCollins UK previously terminated its publishing relationship with David Walliams. We take the safety of our people incredibly seriously, and to respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on employee matters."

Victims Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, has said she is "glad" Walliams' attempts to block the publication of the allegations with a High Court injunction were unsuccessful, but added that powerful and wealthy individuals have used injunctions and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) "to silence victims for a very long time".

She said it "should not be possible" for people in positions of power to use injunctions or NDAs to hide their abuse, and highlighted that the government's Employment Rights Act in 2025 made NDAs legally void if they were included in employment contracts or settlement agreements to prevent employees speaking out about workplace harassment or discrimination.

'I was a fan and I was very young'

On Tuesday, ITV News and the Guardian published a joint investigation into Walliams, which revealed that multiple women accused Walliams of “grooming” them when they were teenagers.

One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams at 15 years old as a “sexual assault”.

Another woman, Alex*, says he began contacting her when she was 15, after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event, before starting a sexual relationship with her at 17.

Walliams denies all allegations against him, including any criminal activity.

Now we can report new exchanges between him and young women, who believe he behaved inappropriately.

Back in 2004, when Alex first met Walliams, there was another teenager, Carrie*, who met him on the exact same day, at the exact same Little Britain CD signing, in the exact same queue.

“They were in character as Lou and Andy... I don't really remember what he said apart from him asking for my number," recalled Carrie.

"I was just sort of flustered and flattered to be honest because you are meeting a celebrity."

Late that night when she got home, Walliams rang her, having also called Alex only hours before.

"It was really late at night. He basically said I'd like to take you out to dinner in London."

Carrie didn't take Walliams up on his offer but understands why others might have.

"I'm sure there's many young girls who didn't have the strong will that I did... Looking back now, it's about power dynamics and that's where I think it's inappropriate," she said.

"I absolutely was not 'asking for it'. I wasn't there to impress and I wasn't flirty... I was a fan and I was very young.”

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Walliams says he cannot recall this incident and does not believe he would've asked for her phone number as he was dressed in character.

Alex says she also spoke to Walliams that night - but her interactions with him went well beyond one phone call.

She alleges he “groomed” her over several years, helping with her comedy scripts, offering to get her work experience in TV and sending her tickets and backstage passes to Little Britain shows.

Nearly two years after their initial meeting, Alex agreed to meet Walliams in person. But this time it was at his home in Belsize Park, London, where they had sex. She was 17. He was 34.

“I remember him just being this looming figure. He’s a big guy,” she recalled. “I remember him coming at me and kissing me. It was a really pushy kiss. I remember he just shoved his tongue in my mouth.

"I just hadn’t ever experienced anything like that before... then, I kind of followed his lead, really. We went on his bed and we had sex."

"I remember he didn't use a condom. I remember clocking it and thinking that's not good but I was too young... I really don't think I would have had the ability to get the words out at that point to say ‘don't do that’,” Alex added.

“It just felt very pushy and very for him. I felt like a prostitute, essentially. I was there for that reason and then I was out.”

Alex says she had consensual sex with Walliams on three separate occasions when she was 17 and 18. One of those times was oral sex.

“I never said no, but I felt unable to say anything or have any control in that situation once I was with him,” she added.

Walliams denies grooming Alex. He claims he wrote to her at 15 to encourage her writing. He does not recall offering her tickets to his shows or work experience.

He says he is “mortified to learn” that their “brief, consensual relationship has caused her sadness.”

Walliams says he cannot recall but believes he used a condom and believed that each time they had sex she was 18. He denies he was pushy towards Alex and finds the suggestion “distressing”, saying she raised no concerns at the time.

In response to this investigation, Walliams said: "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...

“I am not a sexual predator... I have not broken the law... I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised, help is available here.

To get in contact with us confidentially about this story email us at investigations@itv.com

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