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The BBC has removed the 2012 animated film Room On The Broom featuring David Walliams from BBC iPlayer following serious sexual misconduct allegations against the author and performer.
What You Need to Know
- The BBC pulled the children’s adaptation on Friday alongside other programs featuring Walliams.
- Walliams was named in a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday, facing allegations of sexual assault and grooming.
- The Metropolitan Police stated on Friday that it had received a number of non-recent serious sex offence allegations against Walliams.
- Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
Removal From BBC iPlayer
The 30-minute animated film adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s children’s book Room On The Broom is no longer accessible on the BBC’s streaming platform. Walliams voiced a frog in the 2012 production alongside Gillian Anderson as the witch and Simon Pegg as the narrator, contributing three lines of dialogue and various sound effects.
“These are serious allegations. As such, the BBC is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms,” a BBC spokesperson told The Standard. “Earlier in the week, the BBC said it was carrying out a review of” all material featuring and written by Walliams on its platforms and was in the process of removing some, the corporation confirmed.
Extensive Broadcaster Action
The BBC has also restricted access to several other titles linked to Walliams, including the sketch comedy series Little Britain and Come Fly With Me. A 2020 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and screen adaptations of his books such as Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy are currently unavailable on iPlayer.
Other networks have followed suit across the UK broadcasting sector. Channel 4 removed episodes of 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown and the 2021 special Chitty Flies Again. Meanwhile, Sky pulled related content and dropped distribution for the upcoming film Fing!, which is based on his 2019 children’s book.
“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 and Ireland licensee of Fing!” a Sky spokesperson said.
| Broadcaster / Distributor | Action Taken | Affected Content |
|---|---|---|
| BBC | Removed from iPlayer | Room On The Broom, Little Britain, Come Fly With Me |
| Channel 4 | Removed from platform | 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Chitty Flies Again |
| Sky | Removed content and dropped distribution | Platform content and upcoming film Fing! |
Police Investigate Non-Recent Sex Offence Allegations Against Walliams
The Metropolitan Police announced on Friday that detectives had received a number of non-recent serious sex offence allegations against the 55-year-old former Britain’s Got Talent judge in recent days. The reports followed earlier investigative coverage by The Guardian and ITV News.
Walliams has not responded directly to Tuesday’s published reports, though a letter sent months prior to journalists indicated he denied being a sexual predator. “at times, and regretted not taking people's feelings” properly into account, Walliams said he recognised he “behaved thoughtlessly”, while insisting he had not broken the law.
