David Walliams’ remaining copies of his book are being phased out by his publisher HarperCollins following claims of “inappropriate behaviour”.
HarperCollins said last year that it had dropped the children’s author, 55, after reports that he had “harrassed” young female staff at the company, which he strongly denies.
The publisher has now confirmed that it has dropped Walliams’ backlist, according to The Bookseller.
The Little Britain star’s 23 books will be gradually phased out of stock in bookshops as well as e-book and audio versions online, it is believed.
HarperCollins has published all of his children’s books, beginning with The Boy in the Dress in 2008, as well as his picture books and short story collections. They have sold over 60 million copies worldwide and six of them have been adapted for TV.
The Standard has contacted Walliams and HarperCollins for comment. The publisher reportedly opened an internal inquiry into Walliams' conduct last year, after a junior employee lodged a complaint.
During the probe, the author was allegedly kept away from some junior staff, while one employee is said to have left the business with a five-figure payout.
In an exclusive by The Telegraph, publishing staff reportedly told the newspaper they were told to work "in pairs" when meeting Walliams and they were advised not to visit his home.
He was dropped by the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Festival after the claims came out and the BBC said it has "no future projects directly involving” the presenter.
Harper Collins former chief executive Charlie Redmayne departed the business suddenly in October, and was replaced by Kate Elton as interim chief. It is reported that Walliams was unaware of the Harper Collins investigation and has not been presented with its findings.
A HarperCollins spokesperson told the Telegraph at the time: "After careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision.
"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’ agent said: "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."
Besides his career as an author and comedian, Walliams was also a familiar face as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for over ten years until he departed in November 2022.
He was forced to apologise to contestants after a leaked transcript of sexist comments he made during a break in filming auditions at the London Palladium in January 2020.
He referred to one contestant as a "c***" three times and spoke of another: "She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t."
Walliams said after the scandal broke: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
"These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry."
It was reported in September 2023 that Walliams had launched legal action against production company, Fremantle, and won a substantial settlement two months later.
