David Walliams Apologizes For “Disrespectful” Remarks Caught During ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Filming

10.11.2022 - 19:15 / deadline.com

David Walliams has apologized for making “disrespectful comments” about Britain’s Got Talent contestants.

BGT judge Walliams was caught making the sexually explicit and derogatory remarks during a recording of the ITV show two years ago, according to a transcript leaked to The Guardian.

“I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020,” he said in a statement. “These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”

Walliams, who has been a judge on the Thames and Syco Entertainment show since 2012, was recorded calling one contestant a “c***” and claiming another “thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t.”

In the first instance, the contestant, who is a pensioner, had engaged the judges in some lighthearted joshing but when they left the stage after an unsuccessful audition, Walliams was recorded swearing at them.

The Guardian reported Walliams’ lawyers and producer Thames had argued the transcripts, taken from three episodes, should not be published as the comments were not intended for broadcast and should be considered private.

Thames told the Guardian Walliams had been reminded of the program’s “expectations as to future professional conduct,” while Simon Cowell’s Syco said that while it had been unaware of the comments before the story broke, it could not confirm or deny he had heard the alleged remarks.