BBC under pressure to rip up Christmas TV schedule after David Walliams ‘harassment’ allegations: Star set to feature in Boxing Day special and two of his book adaptations will be shown today

The BBC is under pressure to remove David Walliams from its Christmas television programme.

The publisher yesterday appeared to rule out any further projects with the children’s book author following allegations that she had been dropped by HarperCollins. He harassed and behaved inappropriately towards female staff.

Walliams denied any wrongdoing and said he had not been informed of any allegations or parties to the investigation. He is currently receiving legal advice.

A member of parliament told Telegram The BBC ‘probably would be better safe than sorry’ and removed Walliams, 54, from its programme.

However, a BBC spokesman said:“We’re not making any changes to the festival programmes,” he said, before adding: “We don’t have any future projects directly related to this issue.” David Walliams.

The BBC will air two TV adaptations of Walliams’ books, as well as the Boxing Day special of Would I Lie to You? He appears here as a panelist.

However, this recording also sparked controversy after the author gave two Nazi salutes during filming.

CBBC will broadcast Mr Stink, the TV movie based on the 2009 Walliams book, at 9am today, while The Boy in the Dress will also be shown later in the day.

Mr Stink, starring Hugh Bonneville as Mr Stink and Prime Minister David Walliams, airs on CBBC tomorrow.

The BBC is also understood to have no plans to remove any content featuring Wallace from iPlayer.

The Daily Mail has contacted the BBC and Walliams’ representatives for further comment.

It comes as Walliams is enjoying a pre-Christmas break with his 12-year-old son Alfred in the Maldives, 5,000 miles away.

In a series of Instagram posts that appear to be sponsored, Walliams can be seen scuba diving, swimming and enjoying afternoon tea while tagging the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa resort.

One of the clips shows Walliams scuba diving with a turtle; The soundtrack from the Bond thriller You Only Live Twice is played and shared with the caption “a dream”.

The second post is titled ‘floating in paradise’, while the third post describes the resort as Walliams’ ‘new favorite place on earth’ and ‘complete and utter perfection’. The facility reshared his posts on its own Instagram page.

Photos show the former Britain’s Got Talent judge enjoying tea, cocktails and biscuits at the resort, where this week’s villas cost $6,105 (about £4,563) a night.

HarperCollins said in a statement on Friday that it had decided ‘not to publish new works by David Walliams’ following its own internal investigation.

The decision to let Walliams go follows the sudden departure of former England chief executive Charlie Redmayne in October. Mr Redmayne has since been replaced by Kate Elton.

Walliams’ spokesman denied any wrongdoing. They said: ‘David was never made aware of any allegations made against him by HarperCollins.

‘He was not party to any investigation or given the opportunity to answer questions. ‘David emphatically denies acting inappropriately and seeking legal advice.’

A spokesperson for HarperCollins said: ‘After careful consideration and under the leadership of its new CEO, HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish new works by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision.

The BBC will air two TV adaptations of Walliams’ books, as well as the Boxing Day special of Would I Lie to You? where he appeared as a panelist

More than 40 works of the children’s author, who started writing books in 2008, have been published, translated into 55 languages, and more than 60 million copies have been sold.

‘HarperCollins takes the welfare of employees extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. To respect individuals’ privacy, we do not comment on internal matters.’

More than 40 works of the children’s author, who started writing books in 2008, have been published, translated into 55 languages, and more than 60 million copies have been sold.

HarperCollins published her first children’s book, The Boy in the Dress, in 2008; His other books, such as Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy, have also been adapted into television movies.

Although Mr Walliams was once television royalty, a series of scandals in recent years have forced him out of the limelight.

The comedian left Britain’s Got Talent after disgusting sexual comments he made about female contestants were revealed.

A leaked transcript in 2022 revealed that he called one auditioning contestant a “b**ch” and said of another that “she thinks you want to fuck her but you don’t.”

Comments made during auditions at the London Palladium in January 2020 were captured on the show’s microphones.

Mr Walliams apologized at the time the comments were made public, admitting they were ‘disrespectful’ and added they were part of a private conversation ‘never intended to be shared’.

He later left the show and sued production company Fremantle for misuse of private information and breaching data laws. The company apologized and Walliams is thought to have parted with around £5 million.

Last week it was revealed by the Daily Mail that alarm bells were also ringing for ITV bosses after they discovered Walliams had a habit of inviting fans into his dressing room and handing out cakes.

Although her books remain popular and accounted for more than 40 percent of revenue for HarperCollins’ children’s division in 2018, she hasn’t truly returned to prime time since.

By 2019 it was estimated that he and HarperCollins had sold £100 million of his books.

But book sales have been in decline ever since, falling more than 60 percent this summer.

Simon Cowell, the showbiz giant behind the show, is said to have since gone to great lengths to distance himself from Mr Walliams and the pair “don’t get along at all anymore”.

In June this year, it was reported that the writer made two Nazi salutes during the taping of the Christmas edition of the BBC’s comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?

The comedian apparently made a ‘joking’ bow to Call the Midwife actress Helen George as she told a story from her time on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015.

Presenter Rob Brydon condemned Walliams and reminded him that the show had come out before the turning point.

But as George continued to reveal his Strictly story, Walliams is said to have made the move a second time, this time with a sexual touch.

Walliams’ team captain Lee Mack was said to have appeared unimpressed, while a member of the audience said the greetings came “strangely”.