David Walliams named after failed bid to block sexual misconduct reporting

The allegations emerged from an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News. Multiple women allege that David Walliams abused his power and position as a celebrity to pursue them for sexual purposes when they were young women.

Walliams sought an injunction to prevent publication of his name alongside the allegations, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That legal bid failed. He denies the allegations, the Guardian reported.

On November 9, before Walliams had been publicly identified in this coverage, the Daily Mail reported that the unnamed celebrity appeared to have missed the deadline to appeal the injunction refusal. The Court of Appeal said it had received nothing from him before the 4.30pm deadline.

Later coverage that day treated the position more definitively. The Times reported that the celebrity could be named after failing to appeal, allowing publication by the organisations investigating the allegations.

On November 10, The Hollywood Reporter identified Walliams as the previously unnamed celebrity accused of sexual assault and grooming. Deadline Hollywood also named him, describing allegations of exploitative sexual activity involving girls and young women.

The published allegations included claims involving teenage fans. GB News reported accusations of grooming fans as young as 15, while the Guardian described multiple women's accounts and reported Walliams's denial.

The immediate change is that Walliams can now be publicly identified in connection with allegations he had tried to keep from publication. The failed injunction concerned reporting; it does not establish whether the underlying allegations are true.

Walliams denies the allegations, according to the Guardian. The supplied coverage does not set out a further court timetable or a next procedural step.