David Walliams accused of preying on young women; he denies wrongdoing

Several women have accused comedian and former Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams of using his fame to pursue them for sex when they were teenagers or young women. He denies any wrongdoing.

The allegations come from a newly published investigation. Some of the women say their experiences were traumatising and have asked for pseudonyms to protect their anonymity.

What are the allegations?

One woman, called Alex in the report, says Walliams phoned her in January 2004 after she gave him some of her scripts at a fan event. She was 15. He was 32 and a rising star of the sketch show Little Britain. She says they exchanged emails over the following two years and that by the time she was 17, they were having sex.

Another woman, called Jade, says she also met him when she was 15. She alleges that weeks after he first made contact, he invited her to his house and initiated sexual contact.

Most of the women say they were over 18 at the time. Several sources also describe inappropriate behaviour towards women at Britain's Got Talent and at his publisher, HarperCollins.

What does Walliams say?

In a letter to the journalists, he wrote that he sometimes "behaved thoughtlessly" towards people he had casual sexual relationships with, and that this is something he regrets. He said a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, but that abusing it is "something I never did".

He added: "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law."

Why now?

Walliams, 55, is a multimillionaire, an OBE recipient and one of the UK's best-selling children's authors. Earlier this year his lawyers asked the High Court to stop the allegations being published. The case was dismissed.

In September, HarperCollins said it would stop publishing his back catalogue, having dropped him as an author last year. The investigation now reports the publisher cut ties after concerns about his behaviour over several years. These included an allegation that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee and pursued another.

What's next?

Walliams says he is devastated that some women he met 10 to 20 years ago now feel hurt or angry. He rejects the claim that he abused his position.