David Walliams SUES Britain’s Got Talent bosses 10 months after star was axed from ITV’s hit talent show over foul-mouthed rant about contestant which comic Clare Harrison Mccartney claims was HER
- The comedian left the show in 2022 after a transcript of his remarks was leaked
David Walliams is suing his former bosses at Britain’s Got Talent – ten months after he was axed as a judge.
The comedian, 52, worth around £17million, is said to be seeking significant damages following his resignation from the ITV show in November last year which saw him net £1.5million per year.
The Sun has claimed that David is battling it out with production company Fremantle UK after a transcript of the comments he made was leaked.
David quit the show after a ten-year stint, two weeks after he was caught calling an elderly contestant a ‘c***’ during a break in filming.
He was also heard disparaging a female contestant, calling her a ‘slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t’.
Comedian Clare Harrison Mccartney later claimed these comments were about her and branded Walliams a ‘sad misogynist’, but producers on the show denied the remarks were aimed at her.
David Walliams quit Britain’s Got Talent after ten years on the judging panel, weeks after he apologised for making vile remarks about a contestant
The comedian and author is now set to sue the show’s producers over an alleged data breach, according to reports
He was axed fom the show after makin vile remarks about contestants, including one female competitor. Comedian Clare Harrison Mccartney (pictured on the show) later claimed she was the subject of the these remarks, although his has been denied by BGT producers
Bruno Tonioli later took over from him on the talent show, signing a big money deal.
A source told The Sun about David’s decision to leave at the time: ‘He hasn’t taken the decision lightly, but it just feels like time to move on.’
READ MORE HERE: David Walliams celebrates his 52nd birthday with a VERY extravagant dinner as he parties with pals including Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Michael Caine
‘David has decided to bow out after a ten-year run. He wants to leave on a high after a wonderful time.
‘His team have quietly been having conversations over the past few days where it has been made clear that David is readying himself to step down – and then producers will start to think about who might replace him.’
However, he has now filed papers at the High Court in London accusing Fremantle of a data protection breach over the leak of the transcript, the Sun reports.
It claims he has hired Brandsmiths, an intellectual property law firm, for the case and that documents were filed at the court on Thursday, September 21.
The comments, made in January 2020 during auditions at the London Palladium, were picked up on the programme’s microphones.
In one incident, an older performer engaged in light-hearted banter with the judges in which he made a jibe about Walliams, an expose by The Guardian claimed.
After the audition, the pensioner left, after which Walliams is said to have described him as a ‘c**t’ three times.
In a separate incident, after a female contestant had walked off stage, Walliams remarked: ‘She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t.’ He later added: ‘I know, she’s just like: “Oh, f*** off!” I was saying, she thinks you want to f*** her, but you don’t.
‘It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like: “Yep, I bet you do!”
‘No I don’t! I had a bit of a b***r, but now it’s going, it’s now shrivelled up inside my body.’
Walliams, pictured here at the Dermot O’Leary Breakfast Show in April this year, is said to have described a contestant as a ‘c**t’ three times
He’s off! The comedian (pictured in 2012) is set to leave the ITV show ahead of its 2023 series, weeks after he was forced to apologise for describing an elderly contestant as a ‘c***’
Shocking: David left BGT after he described an elderly contestant as a c*** and made vile sexual remarks about a female who was also competing on the show
A comedian and impressionist who appeared on the show in 2020 claimed the remarks made by Walliams were about her.
READ MORE HERE: Comedian claims she was target of ‘misogynist’ BGT judge who joked she was ‘boring’ but ‘wanted to f**k him’
Clare Harrison Mccartney initially retweeted criticism of Walliams, but then posted on Twitter: ‘Those comments from #DavidWalliams were about me in this audition. I certainly wasn’t putting out f-me vibes to David Walliams, that’s in his mind. What a misogynist thinking all women fancy him.’
She added: ‘As if I didn’t feel low enough after that audition and he’s implying I fancied him – don’t flatter yourself Walliams. I only went on BGT to try for a better life because I’m skint in a council flat, you sad misogynist.’
It is not clear how Ms Harrison Mccartney would have known she was the target of the remarks, and a spokeswoman for Fremantle UK denied they were about her.
After the transcript was released a source at Britain’s Got Talent told the Mail it ‘could not have come at a worse time’ for Walliams as his deal to return to the show had not been finalised.
They added: ‘David’s remarks have now become a huge part of the conversation.
‘He hasn’t signed any deal yet which has come as a relief because now there are options.
‘It is a family show and this isn’t just a negative thing to happen, it is offensive to people.’
Walliams, one of the UK’s best-known television personalities and children’s book authors, was forced to apologise for his outbursts – but insisted that they were private conversations.
In a statement given to the Guardian after the transcripts were revealed, Walliams said: ‘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.’
However, it was confirmed weeks later that he would not be returning to the show.
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