Author says publishing figures raised concerns about David Walliams

Author and columnist Chloe Combi says concerns about David Walliams’s behaviour circulated within publishing more than a decade ago, according to BBC News. Her account follows allegations of sexual misconduct, inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power against the comedian and children’s author, which he denies.

Combi told the BBC that a senior publishing figure warned her in 2015 against inviting Walliams to school events. At the time, she was organising a programme bringing writers and speakers into schools, alongside attending publishing events connected with her own work.

She said the warning concerned his alleged behaviour towards young female staff. Combi stressed that she had never met Walliams and that her information came from other people, making her account one of warnings she received rather than misconduct she personally witnessed.

The wider allegations emerged through a three-year investigation by ITV News and the Guardian. ITV reported that multiple women accused Walliams of grooming them as teenagers, while another described an encounter when she was 15 as a sexual assault. Walliams denies those allegations.

The investigation also reported allegations of inappropriate conduct involving publishing and television workplaces. Its accounts concern both personal encounters and professional settings, placing questions about celebrity influence and the treatment of younger women at the centre of the reporting. Those allegations remain disputed by Walliams.

In his response to the investigating organisations, Walliams denied targeting teenage girls and young women or using his status to coerce or manipulate them into sex. He acknowledged behaving thoughtlessly in some casual sexual relationships and regretted not always considering others’ feelings, but rejected allegations that he abused his power or broke the law.

Publication followed a lengthy legal dispute in which Walliams sought an injunction preventing the organisations from reporting the allegations. ITV News said the High Court dismissed his application and that he did not appeal before the deadline. The ruling concerned whether publication could proceed, not whether the allegations were true.

HarperCollins, which published Walliams’s children’s books, has also faced questions about its relationship with the author. According to the BBC report, the publisher said it had decided not to publish new titles by him and emphasised the importance of employee wellbeing. The BBC separately sought its response to Combi’s account.

Combi’s comments add a distinct question to the broader reporting: what people within publishing had heard, and when. Her recollection does not independently establish the underlying allegations, but it describes informal warnings reaching someone responsible for arranging school appearances years before the investigation became public.

The immediate outstanding issue in the BBC’s reporting was HarperCollins’s response to Combi’s specific claims. Further statements would help clarify the publisher’s account of what it knew and how it responded, while Walliams continues to deny the misconduct alleged against him.