Photo via Evening Standard

David Walliams' remaining books dropped by HarperCollins after 'inappropriate conduct' claims

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Karasin, E. (2026, September 18). David Walliams' remaining books dropped by HarperCollins after 'inappropriate conduct' claims. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/david-walliams-books-harpercollins-conduct-b1297476.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-18 · by Ekin Karasin

Quick Summary

HarperCollins is phasing out David Walliams' 23 books from their catalogue after claims of inappropriate conduct by a junior employee led the publisher to open an internal investigation last year. Walliams’ books have sold over 60 million copies worldwide and six have been adapted for TV, but HarperCollins will no longer publish new titles by him under its current leadership. The author denies any wrongdoing and states he was unaware of the investigation and has not seen its findings.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

HarperCollins, the publisher of David Walliams' children's books since 2008, has decided to no longer publish any new titles by him after an internal investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct. The company will phase out Walliams’ existing books from bookshops and online platforms over time. This decision follows a complaint filed by a junior employee last year, which led the publisher to keep Walliams away from certain staff during the probe. Walliams' 23 titles have collectively sold over 60 million copies worldwide, with six adapted into TV shows. The publisher's new CEO, Kate Elton, made this decision nine months after initially pausing the publication of new Walliams books due to harassment allegations against him.

Written for “David Walliams Book Controversy” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 David Walliams Book Controversy
Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8077 article(s) · 68 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 68 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ekin Karasin
76 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The Lilacs, Logicaltramp, Rick Parfitt Jnr Band, Rudimental and T’Pau will also perform.
🔮 Could have been anything,” he said.
🔮 Read More The 2027 Meltdown festival will run from June 10 to June 20.
🔮 BBC Three, BBC Scotland, and BBC Radio 4 Extra are set to cease traditional linear broadcasting in spring 2027 as the broadcaster moves to reduce spending.
🔮 “I will just say though, I’m a person of difference but it would be nice if everyone could accept people who are different in this world for who they are, not for what they are.”
🔮 It is unclear where Holmes will live when he leaves the hospital, according to the outlet.
🔮 When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
🔮 Amanda Owen says screens have been her family’s “lifeline” and that it would be “incredibly hypocritical” to ban them for her children. The 52-year-old Yorkshire shepherdess stars in the Channel 4 documentary series Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive And Kids, which follows her life in the countryside with her nine children as they renovate a centuries-old derelict farmhouse known as Anty John’s into a modern home.
🔮 Ticket holders will be contacted with rescheduled dates “as soon as they are available”, according to a statement on Sir Michael’s website.
🔮 The actress said her character feels “shocked and devastated” after discovering she is pregnant, adding: “It’s not a situation that she wants to be in. “She’s got to make a decision whether she goes ahead with it or whether she gets a termination – and that’s quite traumatic in itself.” Reflecting on the repercussions this may have on the character, Fallon said: “I think it’s going to eat away at her until one day she can’t take it anymore.
Also by Ekin Karasin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 76 articles by Ekin Karasin →

Topics

Harper Collins HarperCollins Little Britain Standard Walliams

Subjects

Walliams PERSON · 6× HarperCollins ORG · 5× David PERSON · 2× Harper Collins ORG · 2× Charlie Redmayne PERSON · 1× HarperCollins UK ORG · 1× Kate Elton PERSON · 1× Little Britain GPE · 1× Standard ORG · 1× Telegraph ORG · 1×

Narrative

A HarperCollins spokesperson told the Telegraph at the time: "After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 The Little Britain star’s 23 books will be gradually phased out of stock in bookshops as well as e-book and audio versions online, it is believed.

Claims (18 extracted, 2 hedged)

The Little Britain star’s 23 books will be gradually phased out of stock in bookshops as well as e-book and audio versions online, it is believed. asserted
it → phase → versions
HarperCollins has published all of his children’s books, beginning with The Boy in the Dress in 2008, as well as his picture books and short story collections. asserted
HarperCollins → publish → 2008
They have sold over 60 million copies worldwide and six of them have been adapted for TV. asserted
six → sell → TV
The Standard has contacted Walliams and HarperCollins for comment. asserted
Standard → contact → comment
The publisher reportedly opened an internal inquiry into Walliams' conduct last year, after a junior employee lodged a complaint. uncertain
employee → open → complaint
During the probe, the author was allegedly kept away from some junior staff, while one employee is said to have left the business with a five-figure payout. uncertain
employee → keep → payout
Harper Collins former chief executive Charlie Redmayne departed the business suddenly in October, and was replaced by Kate Elton as interim chief. asserted
executive → depart → chief
It is reported that Walliams was unaware of the Harper Collins investigation and has not been presented with its findings. asserted
Walliams → report → findings
A HarperCollins spokesperson told the Telegraph at the time: "After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. asserted
UK → tell → Walliams
"HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. asserted
HarperCollins → take → concerns
To respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on internal matters.” asserted
we → respect → matters
Walliams’ agent said: "David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins. asserted
David → say → HarperCollins
Read More “He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. asserted
He → read → questions
David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice." asserted
he → deny → advice
Besides his career as an author and comedian, Walliams was also a familiar face as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for over ten years until he departed in November 2022. asserted
he → depart → November
He referred to one contestant as a "c***" three times and spoke of another: "She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t." asserted
you → refer → her
Walliams said after the scandal broke: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. asserted
I → say → 2020
"These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. asserted
These → intend → friends
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support