David Walliams accused of grooming teenage girls; he denies the claims

A joint three-year investigation by ITV News and the Guardian has accused the comedian and children's author David Walliams of sexual misconduct towards several women, including one who was 15 at the time. Walliams denies the allegations.

The report came out on Tuesday, after he lost a legal bid to stop the claims being made public.

What happened?

Walliams found fame in the early 2000s with the BBC sketch show Little Britain. He later became a judge on ITV's Britain's Got Talent and wrote a best-selling series of children's books.

The investigation says several women, who do not know one another, allege they were targets of unwanted sexual advances from him. Some accuse him of grooming them as teenagers.

What do the women allege?

One woman, given the pseudonym Alex, says she met him at a fan event in 2004 when she was 15. She says they stayed in touch and had sex when she was 17. "I think I was groomed. 100%," she told the investigation.

Another, called Jade, alleges she met him in a Soho cafe at 15. She says he later tried to lift up her shirt at his home, which she now calls a sexual assault.

Lilly Creightmore, who waived her right to anonymity, was 18 when he contacted her. She told BBC Newsnight she felt pressured to share a bed with him after moving into his house.

Other allegations involve models, a junior employee at publisher HarperCollins and behaviour backstage at Britain's Got Talent.

What does Walliams say?

In a letter to journalists, he said: "I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law." He said he sometimes behaved thoughtlessly towards people he had casual relationships with, and regrets that.

He told the investigation he believed Alex was 18 when they had sex, and said he denied grooming Creightmore. His lawyers say he did not target anyone because they were young or vulnerable.

What's next?

The fallout has been fast. His long-time literary agent, Independent Talent Group, has dropped him. The BBC called the allegations "serious" and removed Little Britain from iPlayer. Sky said it was dropping its planned adaptation of his book Fing! and had removed content featuring him.

The Metropolitan Police said it has contacted the Guardian and ITV News so that any potential victims know how to report criminal allegations.