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Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes

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Cite

Howe, M. (2026, November 10). Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/jonathan-ross-horrified-allegations-david-walliams-russell-brand-b1304387.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-11-10 · by Megan Howe

Quick Summary

Jonathan Ross, the 65-year-old TV presenter, responded to recent allegations against David Walliams and Russell Brand's criminal conviction for sexual offenses. In a statement, Ross expressed his horror over the accusations and crimes, distancing himself from both men, who he was once on friendly terms with. He also addressed past controversial remarks about Walliams at the 2004 British Comedy Awards, stating that he would not have told or condoned such jokes if he had known of actual misconduct by Walliams.
Written by AI on 2026-11-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

British comedian and children’s author David Walliams has been accused of using his celebrity status to groom and prey on young girls and teenagers for sexual purposes. The allegations were reported by the Guardian newspaper and ITV News after an investigation that included interviews with multiple women who claim he abused their trust and power dynamics. Walliams is alleged to have targeted individuals as young as 15, dating back years from his early success in shows like Little Britain to his later television appearances.

Walliams had been fighting in court to block the publication of these serious allegations but missed a deadline for an appeal at London's High Court on November 10th. The legal battle included claims that publishing such information would lead Walliams to attempt suicide, with his lawyer stating he attempted to take his own life twice and was hospitalized due to the stress of the accusations.

TV presenter Jonathan Ross broke his silence regarding the allegations, expressing horror over the claims and apologizing for a joke he made at the 2004 British Comedy Awards about Walliams "going home with 15-year-olds," which Walliams had laughed off at the time. Police in London have been urged to investigate any reports related to these accusations; however, as of now, no criminal charges have been filed against Walliams.

Written for “David Walliams Sexual Misconduct Allegations” on 2026-11-11, grounded in this article and the 44 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 143276 · logged 2026-11-11

Story

David Walliams Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Crime & Law · 45 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Jonathan Ross 'horrified' by Walliams allegations and Brand conviction Same event
BBC News
Hedges 5 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
Jonathan Ross joked David Walliams would ‘go home with’ 15-year-olds at comedy awards Different event
Evening Standard
Leans right Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes Jonathan Ross breaking his silence about David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes, while Article B focuses on the specific incident where Jonathan Ross joked about Walliams at the 2004 British Comedy Awards. Although both articles mention the same event, they describe different aspects of it.”
Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand Same event
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 64/100
Watch: What we know about the allegations against Walliams Different event
BBC News
Leans left Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related allegations against David Walliams but describe different aspects and responses: Article A focuses on the allegations and legal battle, while Article B covers Jonathan Ross's reaction to the allegations.”
Jonathan Ross says he is 'horrified' by David Walliams allegations as he opens up about 'deeply shocking' joke about Little Britain comedian 'going home with 15-year-olds' Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 40 claims Outlet record 69/100
Moment Jonathan Ross jokes about David Walliams 'going home with 15-year-olds' at 2004 comedy awards Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 39 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes Jonathan Ross's joke about David Walliams at the 2004 British Comedy Awards, while Article B is a broader statement from Ross addressing allegations against Walliams and Russell Brand.”
British comedian and children's author David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 4 of 26 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A reports on allegations against David Walliams, while Article B discusses Jonathan Ross's reaction to those allegations and mentions Russell Brand separately.”
The David Walliams Allegations Different event
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss David Walliams' sexual misconduct allegations, Article A focuses on the legal battle and denial of the claims by Walliams, while Article B covers Jonathan Ross's statement regarding these allegations.”
David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct after losing injunction bid Different event
BBC News
Hedges 6 of 63 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss David Walliams' sexual misconduct allegations, Article A focuses on the publication of the allegations and the legal battle, while Article B reports on Jonathan Ross's response to these allegations.”
The teenage girls David Walliams preyed on in public: As police urge women to come forward, how grooming comic's behaviour was so well known Jonathan Ross joked about in in a room full of stars Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 6 of 46 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A focuses on Jonathan Ross's statement regarding David Walliams and Russell Brand, while Article B discusses allegations against David Walliamss and police urging victims to come forward. They cover related topics but do not describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
45
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 74 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Megan Howe
134 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
The 13-year-old royal’s colourful kingfisher has been included in the magazine’s bumper 300-page issue, which his father Prince William has spent the past six months putting together as a guest editor.
2026-11-11 · assertive framing · Prince George's art to feature in edition of Country Life guest edited by Prince of Wales
“It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point.
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes
“We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
2026-11-10 · mixed framing · Meghan's father Thomas Markle detained for 'cutting of his ankle monitor' while on bail amid child abuse probe
“We will work together to take robust action against those we suspect of any criminal activity that could undermine our national security."
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · US soldier arrested in UK over alleged Russia-linked national security offences
Mayor Sadiq Khan has triggered a high air pollution alert for Tuesday following advice from forecasters at Imperial College London, with vulnerable residents particularly urged to take care.
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · High air pollution alert for London as dense fog threatens travel disruption
Sarah Melo, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) serious economic organised crime and international directorate, said Chowdhury had “deliberately concealed the true extent of his employment so that he could obtain and be paid for multiple full-time jobs at the same time”.
2026-11-09 · mixed framing · Civil servant who juggled five jobs raking in £350,000 found guilty of fraud
It also restricted her from accusing either of behaviour “which may amount to a criminal offence”.
2026-11-09 · assertive framing · Russell Brand's ex-girlfriend Jemima Goldsmith accuses him of ‘violence and abuse’
Mayor Sadiq Khan has triggered a high air pollution alert for Tuesday following advice from forecasters at Imperial College London, with vulnerable residents particularly urged to take care.
2026-11-09 · assertive framing · London hit by high pollution warning as dense fog threatens travel disruption
In a heated exchange, Mr Brand refused to accept the jury’s verdict and appeared to suggest jurors could have been selected because of their views about his son.
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According to the Sentencing Council, Brand is likely to serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody before being released on licence, where he will be required to follow specific conditions, such as wearing a tag.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 134 articles by Megan Howe →

Topics

BBC Radio 2 British Comedy Awards the 2004 the Comedy Awards

Subjects

Walliams PERSON · 6× Ross PERSON · 3× Brand PERSON · 2× David Walliams PERSON · 2× Russell Brand PERSON · 2× BBC Radio 2 ORG · 1× Georgina Baillie PERSON · 1× Jonathan Ross PERSON · 1×

Narrative

In his statement, Ross also addressed his controversial joke about Walliams and said: “I recognise how deeply shocking it is to revisit footage of a joke delivered by me at the Comedy Awards in 2004, in which I make light of the notion of Walliams going home with a 15-year-old.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-11
“It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point.
2026-11-11 · Evening Standard
Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes · assertive framing
2026-11-11 · Evening Standard
Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 1 hedged)

Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes asserted
Ross → break → allegations
The TV presenter, 65, spoke out after footage resurfaced of him joking about Walliams and 15-year-olds at the 2004 British Comedy Awards. asserted
him → speak → Awards
Walliams denies all allegations against him. asserted
Walliams → deny → him
The image shows him alongside Walliams at an event attended by a woman who later made allegations about Walliams’ conduct. asserted
who → show → conduct
In a statement Ross said: “I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation. asserted
I → say → nation
“There was a time in my life when I was on friendly terms with both men, and during that period I was genuinely unaware of their conduct. asserted
I → be → conduct
“My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward.” asserted
who → come → women
The Jonathan Ross Show host has faced scrutiny over his past association with Brand, who was jailed on Monday for 10-and-a-half years for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. asserted
who → face → others
Ross appeared on several television shows alongside Brand and also featured on his BBC Radio 2 show in 2008, when the pair became embroiled in a scandal involving Georgina Baillie. asserted
pair → appear → Baillie
In his statement, Ross also addressed his controversial joke about Walliams and said: “I recognise how deeply shocking it is to revisit footage of a joke delivered by me at the Comedy Awards in 2004, in which I make light of the notion of Walliams going home with a 15-year-old. asserted
Walliams → address → old
“This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect. asserted
he → submit → effect
“It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point. asserted
that → dream → point
“Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him. uncertain
I → have → him
“I also like to think that I would have acted upon that knowledge.” asserted
I → like → knowledge
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