The British Celebrity Who Was Denied An Injunction Amid Sexual Assault Allegations Has Now Been Named

Posted on Nov 10, 2026 UTC

This article mentions sexual assault allegations and references to suicide. 

The British celebrity who attempted to stop two news organizations from identifying him amid allegations of sexual misconduct has now been named after a judge denied his request for an injunction, and he failed to appeal this decision.

As you may recall, last month, social media was alight with speculation after it was reported that a “well-known” individual in the UK – referred to in court as PPT — had been seeking a legal injunction to stop the British news outlet the Guardian and production company ITN from publishing allegations against him.

Per the Guardian, these allegations include “inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities with girls and young women.”

The man’s legal team denied that he had ever used “his power and position as a celebrity to contact and forge relationships with young women and teenagers to try to have sex with them.”

In addition, they argued that publishing these claims could put him at a high risk of suicide, saying that he was still “seriously ill” following two recent attempts on his life after media organizations approached him about the allegations in May.

In response to the injunction request, legal representatives for the Guardian and ITN said that they had “not just the responsibility, but the duty to publish information we believe to be in the public interest.”

And the celebrity’s request for an injunction was denied by judge Mr Justice Nicklin on Friday, who noted: "The court did not determine whether the allegations, or any of them, were true, and the dismissal of the claim does not amount to approval of any publication the defendants may decide to make."

He added that the claim that the man intends to take his own life if the allegations are published should be taken seriously, but the statements do not "establish that suicide is inevitable or that treatment cannot reduce the risk."

In his judgment, Nicklin also wrote: “The proposed publications concern serious allegations about the conduct of a prominent person and the alleged use of status, influence and access in dealings with women and girls. The subject matter includes alleged abuse of power, sexual misconduct and inappropriate conduct towards younger or vulnerable persons. Those are matters capable of making a significant contribution to public debate."

While the celebrity argued that publishing the allegations would breach his protections under the European Convention on Human Rights, including articles that guarantee the right to life and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment, and also cited his right to private and family life, the judge said a permanent injunction "would have been an exceptionally serious restriction upon freedom of expression."

The celebrity’s deadline to appeal the judge’s ruling was 4.30pm UK time on Nov. 9, which was missed. As a result, the temporary injunction lifted at midday UK time on Nov. 10, and the Guardian has now published an article naming British TV personality David Walliams in a series of sexual assault and grooming allegations, which he denies.

David told the publication, via letter: “Looking back, I realize that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with. I realize I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account. That is something I regret. And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did. I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”

In the article, multiple women have alleged that they were as young as 15 when David first struck up a friendship with them, while he was in his early 30s. One woman, named only as Jade, has alleged that she first met him when she was 15 and he was 36 after he reached out to her on Myspace, and that he invited her to his home and initiated sexual contact just weeks later.

When they first met, David allegedly asked Jade if she'd ever had sex before, and she said she disclosed that she'd been sexually abused as a child. He later offered her to walk her to the tube station, when he allegedly kissed her forcefully, and invited her back to his home.

Once home, the Guardian alleges: "She says he then lifted up her T-shirt, pulled down her bra and sucked her breast. He took her hand and started to put it down his trousers. She says she was aware that he had an erection and she pulled away. 'I wasn’t ready for sex. I didn’t want to do that with him or with anyone. I was very uncomfortable with my own body as well. And I didn’t – I didn’t want to be touched in that way at all. I mean, I was only a 15-year-old.'" It adds: "Walliams agreed to stop. She recalls him saying 'that we should wait until I’m 16 and then said to keep in contact' … I remember him saying that. That comment will always stick out in my mind. That’s a very strange thing to say." David's lawyers deny sexual contact with Jade.

Another woman, Alex, alleged that she was made to feel "like a prostitute" following three consensual sexual encounters with David, which started when she was 17 after they first met when she was 15. "She says she tried to break things off by refusing to meet him. Walliams did not seem to get the message and she says he would periodically contact her to ask for sex," the Guardian writes. "Once, when she was 18, she says he drove up to a pub she was drinking in and begged her to come to his house for sex. When she refused, she says he suggested she give him oral sex in his Aston Martin instead. Again, she says, she refused."

“I think I was groomed, 100%. We met when I was 15 and he was promising to help me and was a figure of authority and someone that I looked to for guidance and help. He used that power and abused that power the minute he felt he just about could and it was just about safe to," Alex told the publication. David's lawyers have said the suggestion that he groomed Alex "is false and has caused him significant distress," as they also denied all of her other allegations against him.

Meanwhile, Lilly Creightmore was 16 when she first met David in 2003. She recalled being shocked when she received a postcard from him "out of the blue," unaware of how he'd found her name or address. She ended up meeting him for dinner when she was 18 and David was 32, with the Guardian writing: "She says she explicitly told him she was interested only in friendship, but over the years she knew him he would constantly pester her for sex. Looking back, she feels he tried to coerce her into sleeping with him."

After Lilly fell out with her mom, David invited her to stay at his home. The Guardian alleges: "She slept on the sofa but recalls that every night Walliams 'would plead with me to share a bed with him and, you know, paw at me', she says. 'At some point, he put his head in my lap and made me stroke his head.' She adds: 'I didn’t feel safe there and it wasn’t a good situation, so I had to go stay somewhere else.'"

David's lawyers deny he groomed Lilly, or behaving inappropriately toward her.

In addition, the Guardian alleges that production staff at Britain's Got Talent, where David worked as a judge between 2012 and 2022, were concerned about how the star was messaging young runners on the show, with some of the young women who worked there telling the publication that he was "predatory" toward them. David's lawyers deny these claims.

In addition, concerns were reportedly raised over David hosting young fans in his Britain's Got Talent dressing room, with girls as young as 13 allegedly being invited, which his lawyers have called "misleading."

You can read the Guardian's full report and further allegations against David Walliams here.

While he is relatively unknown to a US audience, he is huge across the pond, with the 55-year-old star getting his big break as one of the co-creators and stars of the BBC series Little Britain.

He is also a prominent children’s author who has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. In fact, his books were even turned into an attraction at the British theme park Alton Towers, with the World of David Williams permanently closing earlier this month.

David was married to the model Lara Stone between 2010 and 2015, and they share a 13-year-old son, Alfred.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.

Dial 988 in the United States to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365. Your conversations are free and confidential. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.

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