Sky scraps plans for David Walliams live-action children's adaptation which he was due to star in

Sky has confirmed that it will not be moving ahead with plans to release an upcoming David Walliams film project after allegations were made against him as part of a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News.

Fing! – an adaptation of Walliams's 2019 children's novel – had premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this January and was acquired by Sky for UK distribution, with the plan previously having been for a release in early 2027.

However, after the joint investigation revealed allegations dating back to 2003 that the former Britain's Got Talent judge "preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes", Sky has since removed the film entirely from their slate.

The film, which also included a cameo appearance from Walliams, was directed by Jeffrey Walker and stars Mia Wasikowska, Blake Harrison, Taika Waititi and Penelope Wilton – with Matt Lucas voicing the title character.

As reported by Variety, a spokesperson for Sky said: "The allegations made against David Walliams are extremely serious. We have notified the producers of the film of our intention to exit our position as the UK & Ireland licensee of Fing."

Meanwhile, US distributor Angel Studios will be pressing ahead with the film's release but will remove the appearance from Walliams. Producers of the film said in a statement to Variety, "We take the allegations reported regarding David Walliams seriously," adding, "Our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected. We have removed his cameo appearance from 'Fing!,' and he will have no involvement in the film’s release or promotion."

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The investigation into Walliams reveals allegations dating back to 2003 that the former Britain's Got Talent judge "preyed on teenage girls and young women for sexual purposes".

Multiple women have accused Walliams of "grooming" them when they were teenagers. One says he began contacting her when she was 15, after meeting her at a Little Britain fan event, before starting a sexual relationship with her at 17.

Walliams is also accused of inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment at Britain's Got Talent and at the publisher, HarperCollins.

Walliams denies all allegations.

In response to the investigation, Walliams said: "Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with... I realise 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... I am devastated that some of the women I met ten to twenty years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me."

In response to the investigation, HarperCollins said in a statement: "HarperCollins UK has decided not to publish any new titles by David Walliams. The author is aware of this decision. HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. To respect the privacy of individuals we do not comment on internal matters."

Britain's Got Talent production company Fremantle UK said following the investigation: "David Walliams left Britain’s Got Talent four years ago. During his time on the show, and in the four years since, no complaint has ever been made - either to Fremantle UK, the broadcaster or regulator, and we are not aware of any complaints having been made to any other external authority - regarding his behaviour.

"Nevertheless, if anyone feels they have been the subject of any impropriety or wrongdoing by anyone, we encourage them to come forward. We will treat any complaints seriously and investigate thoroughly and to the best of our ability. This has long been our policy in terms of protecting employees, freelancers, contributors and fans and absolutely remains paramount in our thinking and actions as a responsible television production company."

Syco Entertainment, the company that created BGT, said: "Syco Entertainment had no knowledge of the allegations described and was not made aware of them at the time."

Britain's Got Talent broadcasters ITV also said in a statement: "We are very sorry to hear about the concerns that have been raised. BGT is produced for ITV by Fremantle, an independent production company. Although ITV is the broadcaster of the programme, the producer has day to day responsibility for the running of the production, including all aspects of duty of care, and for ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory obligations as well as ITV’s production and compliance guidelines."

David Walliams: Power and Silence is available to watch now on ITV News YouTube.