Sky drops new David Walliams movie after ‘extremely serious’ allegations

Résumé détaillé

A film based on his book Fing! was due to be distributed by Sky across the UK and Ireland early next year.

Sky has confirmed it has dropped David Walliams’s movie Fing! following “extremely serious” allegations made against him.

The best-selling author and former Britain’s Got Talent judge, 55, was named as part of an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News on Tuesday, after he tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of allegations against him.

One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a “sexual assault”, while multiple women accused him of “grooming” them when they were teenagers.

Several of his children’s books have been adapted into films, including Fing!, which was published in 2019.

On Wednesday, media minister Ian Murray said a “cultural problem” needs to be “stamped out” in the media industry.

Giving evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mr Murray said he was “deeply saddened and also angry” to see the prevalence of abuse by men.

He said: “The culture in this sector for many years hasn’t been good. We’ve got to support the brave women that are coming forward, not just women, but brave women in particular.

“We want to make sure it’s stamped out. This industry has, in the past, been rife with it. It’s a cultural problem and that culture has to change.”

He added: “There should be a zero-tolerance approach with support for the brave women, support for whistleblowers, and making sure the industry can clean up its own act.”

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