David Walliams suddenly left his job as a Britain's Got Talent judge in 2022.
He worked on the show alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon but his decade on the programme came to an end after a controversial moment was revealed. The situation was resolved with former Strictly Come Dancing star Bruno Tonioli replacing the comic the following year.
Audio transcripts of David making unkind and disrespectful comments about auditioning contestants were leaked in November 2022. At the time, Walliams apologised, saying: "These were private conversations and like most conversations with friends were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry."
Audio transcripts were leaked (Dymond/Thames/Syco/REX/Shutterstock)The "disrespectful comments" included Daid referring to one BGT hopeful as "a c**t" and said of another, "she thinks you want to f**k her, but you don't", during breaks in filming the 2020 series. At the time, a spokesperson for BGT's production company Thames said that the language used by Walliams was "inappropriate" and that "those involved have been spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities and the show's expectations as to future professional conduct".
Walliams never officially announced he would be leaving the talent show, but in January 2023 it was confirmed Walliams had left the BGT team, with Strictly star Bruno unveiled as his replacement. However, the situation didn't come to an end there.
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Walliams then went on to sue BGT makers Fremantle in a High Court writ, claiming Fremantle committed an massive breach of data protection laws by "recording, transcribing and retaining" private chats for a whole decade. In legal documents related to the writ, Walliams revealed that he found himself grappling with dark, suicidal thoughts following his BGT exit.
In response to this, a spokesperson from Freemantle told the Mirror in October 2023: "We had a long and productive relationship with David and so are surprised and saddened by this legal action. For our part, we remain available and open to dialogue to resolve this matter amicably. However, in the interim, we will examine the various allegations and are prepared to robustly defend ourselves if necessary."
On Monday 27 November, it was reported that Walliams and Fremantle had reached an undisclosed settlement. In a statement shared with PA News agency, a spokesperson for Fremantle said: "We are pleased that we have achieved an amicable resolution of this dispute with David.
"We are sincerely sorry that his private conversations when a judge on Britain's Got Talent were published, and the great distress this caused David. We have reviewed our production practices on the show to ensure they fully respect the expectations of our talent whilst satisfying the requirements of the show. We have enjoyed a great relationship with David over many years. We thank David for being an important part of the Britain's Got Talent family and the enduring success of the show and hope to have opportunities to work with him in the future."
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