Police contact media over David Walliams allegations

The Metropolitan Police said it approached the news organisations so that people they had spoken to would know how to report any criminal allegations. Any reports would be carefully assessed, the force said, and anyone contacting police would be supported by specialist officers.

The force said reports could be made by calling 101 and quoting reference 4900/10NOV26.

In their joint investigation, The Guardian and ITV News reported that two women said they had first met Walliams when they were 15 and accused him of grooming them. One woman described an alleged encounter at that age as a sexual assault.

The outlets said they heard from 30 sources with first-hand accounts and reviewed emails, social media messages and contemporaneous notes.

Walliams denies wrongdoing, including criminal activity. In a letter to the journalists, he said he regretted sometimes behaving thoughtlessly towards people with whom he had casual sexual relationships, but denied abusing his fame.

The BBC said it was reviewing material featuring or written by Walliams and removing some programmes, including Little Britain, while the review was under way.