David Walliams

In 2013, Walliams appeared in two episodes of the comedy series Blandings as Rupert Baxter, an efficiency expert hired to serve as Lord Emsworth's secretary.

[18] In 2015, coinciding with the 125th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth, Walliams played the role of Tommy Beresford in Partners in Crime, a six-part BBC series.

[13] The story recounts a neglected 12-year-old boy called Dennis' search for a female role model, his friendship with the popular girl in school, and the ways in which relationships develop along gender lines.

On 28 October 2010 Walliams published his third book Billionaire Boy, illustrated by Tony Ross,[39][40] telling the story of Joe Spud, the richest 12-year-old in the country.

It tells the story of Ben who is bored every time he is made to stay at his grandma's house as all she wants to do is to play board games and eat cabbage soup.

[42] In September 2012 Walliams released his fifth children's book, Ratburger, telling the story of a young girl named Zoe whose life is a misery as she has an evil stepmother.

The same year that Grandpa's Great Escape was published, Walliams backed children's fairytales app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF, together with Roger Moore, Stephen Fry, Ewan McGregor, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Michael Caine, Charlotte Rampling and Paul McKenna.

[52][53][54] Illustrated in colour by Tony Ross, Walliams' three The World's Worst Children short story collections, centered around 'five beastly boys and five gruesome girls', were published in May 2016, May 2017 and May 2018, respectively.

[57][58] In July 2020, tweets by author and activist Jack Monroe described Walliams' books as "like Little Britain for kids", with "horrific racism and classism and bodyshaming in a veneer of privileged deniability".

[60][61][62] In September 2021 it was announced that one of the stories in The World's Worst Children would be removed after podcaster Georgie Ma made a complaint, saying Walliams' book was "normalising jokes on minorities from a young age.

Walliams first swam from Lee-on-the-Solent near Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight in around two hours and also completed an eight-hour swim off the coast of Croatia before embarking on the cross-Channel attempt.

The Bluetones' lead singer Mark Morriss wrote a song, "Fade In/Fade Out", in honour of Walliams' achievement; it can be found on their self-titled album, released on 9 October 2006.

[93] Walliams and Stone lived in a house with a recording studio, formerly owned by Noel Gallagher, known as Supernova Heights in Belsize Park, North London.

[99][100] Walliams portrayed a fictional, gay, former children's entertainer and sex offender named Des Kaye who invites volunteers from the audience or celebrity guests to play the game.

[101] Recordings of the sketch include footage where Walliams attempts to kiss participants, manhandles them, pulls their trousers and underwear down, and simulates anal sex.

[102][101] Footage from a 2007 BBC documentary titled Little Britain Down Under shows Walliams inviting male teenagers, said to be aged sixteen to eighteen, to play 'Hide the Sausage' on stage.

[102] Walliams asks the volunteers to confirm their ages and says "Bingo" when one claims they are sixteen years old before adding, "You're a big boy for 16 aren't you - that's what I'll tell the judge.

[101][104][105] Participants included comedian David Baddiel and English actor Jeremy Edwards whose genitals were exposed to more than 3,000 people in the live audience.

"[109] On 2 November 2009, Walliams performed the sketch with Mark Ronson at London's O2 Academy Brixton in front of 3,000 people at a charity event for Concert for CARE.

Critics of the sketch included human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell who said it, "crosses a red line into the sexual humiliation of young men.

Then director of Mediawatch UK, Vivienne Pattison, criticised Channel 4's decision to broadcast the remark adding that "jokes like this set up a context of behaviour that somehow normalises and justifies it.

He had shared the photograph on his Twitter account, in costume, wearing a black suit, wig, and artificial prosthetics that appeared to alter his eyelids and hairline.

[119] Walliams responded to the backlash lightly, constructing a fake text message from Kim Jong-un which he posted to Twitter, reading: "Hi Dave, Loved the Halloween outfit mate!

[123] Walliams said he attended the event in a "strictly professional capacity" as host,[124] and "left immediately" after his set ended, stating that he was "absolutely appalled" by the reports.

[125] The controversy caused some bookshops to remove his books from sale, with the owner of Chicken and Frog noting "even if he was unaware, when the highly inappropriate suggested names were mentioned for his auction lot, or the plastic surgery to 'add spice to your wife', he should have walked away.

[121] In June 2020, Netflix, Britbox, NOW TV and BBC iPlayer dropped Walliams and Lucas' Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, over the use of blackface and stereotypes to portray black, disabled, working class, transgender, and gay people.

[127] Variety Magazine attributed the widespread removal of the series on streaming platforms to heightened awareness in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests.

[128] After the removal, Walliams and Lucas released identical apologies on their Twitter: "[We] have both spoken publicly in recent years of our regret that we played characters of other races.

"[129] In November 2022, it emerged that Walliams had made sexually explicit and derogatory remarks towards some of the contestants on Britain's Got Talent, during a recording at the London Palladium in January 2020.

On 6 November 2006, Walliams won the Pride of Britain Award for "The Most Influential Public Figure" as he raised more than £1.5 million swimming the channel for the Sport Relief charity.

Walliams at the WORD Christchurch Festival 2015, NZ
Walliams in 2011 after swimming the Thames for Sports Relief