BBC faces calls to pull David Walliams from Christmas schedules amid harassment claims

The comedian and author was dropped by the publisher of his children's books amid claims he harassed young women at work.

He is alleged to have behaved inappropriately towards colleagues at HarperCollins, with one woman who raised concerns given a five-figure payoff by the publisher and has since left the company.

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Following the allegations, the BBC announced it was planning no future projects with the Little Britain star.

However, the broadcaster will still air an episode of Would I Lie To You? on Boxing Day which features Walliams.

And on Sunday, two adaptations of his children’s books, Mr Stink and The Boy in the Dress, will also be shown.

Adaptations of his books Gangsta Granny, The Midnight Gang, Billionaire Boy, and Grandpa’s Great Escape are also still available on iPlayer.

The decision has been questioned by politicians, with one MP telling the Telegraph: "Innocent until proven guilty. But with the BBC’s record for getting it wrong, it probably would be better being safe than sorry.”

Walliams' appearance on the Christmas edition of Would I Lie To You? had already drawn controversy after it emerged he gave two Nazi salutes during the recording.

The corporation apologised and has deleted the scene from the episode.

But there are no plans to remove any Walliams' material from iPlayer, with a further animation adaptation of one of his books still going ahead, without the direct involvement of the author.

A spokesperson for Walliams said he "strongly denies" the allegations.

The former Britain’s Got Talent judge is currently on holiday in the Maldives with his son.

HarperCollins' decision to axe Walliams comes after the departure of the publisher's former chief executive, Charlie Redmayne, who left the company in October.

It is understood that Walliams did not know about the HarperCollins investigation and that its conclusions were not put to him.

A spokesman for HarperCollins told LBC: "After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams."

In a statement sent to the Telegraph, HarperCollins told the newspaper: "HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. To respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on internal matters."

Sources told the newspaper that some junior members of staff were kept away from the author and one employee agreed a settlement and received a payoff.

It is also claimed they were told to work in “pairs” when meeting Walliams and were advised not to visit his home.

First rising to fame on the sketch show Little Britain, Walliams became one of the country's most well known children's authors, selling more than 60 million copies of his books.

He was awarded an OBE for services to charity and the arts in 2017.

HarperCollins estimated in 2019 that Walliams had sold £100m worth of books which are widely used in schools and have been translated into 55 languages,

Concerns were raised in 2023 by a junior employee and the investigation by HarperCollins followed.

Employees who had worked with him were interviewed as part of the inquiry, which also involved at least one in-house lawyer.

A spokesperson for David Walliams said: "David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.

"He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice."