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Publisher pulls all of David Walliams's books from print after TV star was accused of harassing young women

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Duell, M. (2026, September 18). Publisher pulls all of David Walliams's books from print after TV star was accused of harassing young women. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16141935/Publisher-HarperCollins-pulls-David-Walliams-books-print.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-09-18 · by Mark Duell

Quick Summary

HarperCollins, the publisher, has decided to remove all books by David Walliams from print following a decision made nine months ago to stop publishing new titles due to allegations of harassment towards young women. The company will now phase out both Walliams's current and backlist publications. Walliams, known for his roles in "Little Britain" and as a judge on "Britain’s Got Talent," has denied the accusations; his books have sold over 60 million copies worldwide.
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 2026-10-31, 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 ↓

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 18 claims Outlet record 65/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail'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

Daily Mail · 8501 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Mark Duell
59 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Mark Duell
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

BBC BGT Daily Mail HarperCollins The Bookseller

Subjects

Walliams PERSON · 7× HarperCollins ORG · 6× David Walliams PERSON · 4× BBC ORG · 2× BGT ORG · 2× David PERSON · 2× Daily Mail ORG · 1× David Edward Williams PERSON · 1× Julia McKenzie PERSON · 1× The Bookseller ORG · 1×

Narrative

David Walliams reads on stage at the Mediterrane Film Festival in Valletta, Malta, in June 2025 David Walliams with his book 'Gangsta Granny' at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August 2012 But he left BGT in 2022 after he apologised for making 'disrespectful comments' about auditioning contestants during filming breaks in 2020 at the London Palladium.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 HarperCollins will no longer print books by David Walliams, nine months after dropping the author following allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Claims (20 extracted, 0 hedged)

HarperCollins will no longer print books by David Walliams, nine months after dropping the author following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. asserted
HarperCollins → print → behaviour
Walliams, best known for starring in BBC comedy Little Britain, became an award-winning children's author whose books have sold more than 60million copies. But HarperCollins announced last December that it had decided to drop the 55-year-old after an investigation into allegations that he had 'harassed' young women. asserted
he → know → women
Since then, it had maintained his catalogue of previous titles – but has now dropped the full backlist and will also phase out bookshop stock, reported The Bookseller. asserted
Bookseller → maintain → stock
Walliams was accused of harassing employees at the firm and a probe was carried out after one of them raised a complaint. asserted
one → accuse → complaint
He has always denied any wrongdoing. asserted
He → deny → wrongdoing
The TV star, real name David Edward Williams, is estimated to have sold £100million worth of books including The Boy In The Dress, Fing, and Gangsta Granny. asserted
star → estimate → Dress
Gangsta Granny was turned into a one-hour BBC special in 2013, starring himself alongside Julia McKenzie - followed by a sequel starring Sheridan Smith in 2022. asserted
Granny → turn → 2022
Walliams rose to fame through appearing in comedy shows including Come Fly With Me alongside Matt Lucas – and was also a judge on Britain's Got Talent. asserted
Walliams → rise → Talent
David Walliams reads on stage at the Mediterrane Film Festival in Valletta, Malta, in June 2025 David Walliams with his book 'Gangsta Granny' at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August 2012 But he left BGT in 2022 after he apologised for making 'disrespectful comments' about auditioning contestants during filming breaks in 2020 at the London Palladium. asserted
he → read → Palladium
The next year, BGT producer Fremantle apologised and reached an 'amicable resolution' with Walliams after the remarks he made while on the show were leaked. asserted
he → apologise → show
Walliams, who appeared on the ITV talent show between 2012 and 2022, was suing the company for a misuse of private information and for breaching UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. asserted
who → appear → Regulation
He was made an OBE in 2017 for services to the arts and charity, having raised £2million for Sport Relief by completing a 140-mile swim down the River Thames. asserted
He → make → Thames
Walliams was contacted for comment today. asserted
Walliams → contact → comment
A HarperCollins spokesperson said: 'I can confirm that HarperCollins will no longer be publishing David Walliams’s backlist.' asserted
HarperCollins → say → backlist
Last December, a spokesperson for the publisher said: '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 → say → 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
A spokesperson for Walliams also said last December: 'David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins. asserted
David → say → HarperCollins
'He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions asserted
He → give → questions
David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.' asserted
he → deny → advice
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