David Walliams dropped from Waterstones Children’s Book Festival in Dundee

Children’s author and comedian David Walliams has been removed from the line-up for the Waterstones Children’s Book Festival, the book chain has said.

It comes after the 54-year-old’s book publisher HarperCollins dropped him last week, following an investigation into allegations he had “harassed” young women.

Walliams strongly denies allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

A statement from Waterstones said: “HarperCollins have confirmed that David Walliams will no longer be appearing at our festival in Dundee.”

The festival will span across three locations, including Lincoln, where it held its inaugural event earlier this year, and Taunton.

Walliams has been removed from the listed speakers list on the festival website.

The TV star, known for appearing in comedy shows including Come Fly With Me and Little Britain alongside Matt Lucas, is also an award-winning children’s author whose books have sold more than 60 million copies globally, according to the HarperCollins website.

Last week, the publisher said that “after careful consideration”, they would not be releasing any new titles from Walliams.

They added: “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.”

Walliams has written books including The Boy In The Dress, Fing, and Gangsta Granny, the latter of which was turned into a one-hour BBC special in 2013, followed by a sequel starring Sheridan Smith in 2022.

He was a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, but left the role in 2022 after he apologised for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants during filming breaks in January 2020 at the London Palladium.

In 2023, Britain’s Got Talent producer Fremantle apologised and reached an “amicable resolution” with Walliams after the remarks he made while on the show were leaked.

Walliams, who appeared on the ITV talent show between 2012 and 2022, was suing the company for misuse of private information and for breaching UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The comedian, actor and presenter was made an OBE in 2017 for services to the arts and charity, having raised £2 million for Sport Relief by completing a 140-mile swim down the River Thames.

Earlier in the year, it was reported that he had made Nazi salutes while recording BBC panel show Would I Lie To You?.

Walliams has been approached for comment about the festival.

A spokesperson for Walliams said in a statement to the Press Association on Friday: “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.”