Former judge David Walliams is suing producers behind Britain's Got Talent
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Former Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams is suing the producers behind the talent competition show.
The Sun first reported that Walliams has filed papers at London's High Court under his real name David Edward Williams.
Walliams is reportedly suing production company Fremantle over a leaked transcript which revealed he had made derogatory comments about contestants during filming breaks or when others were believed to be out of earshot while working as a judge on the show in 2020.
The Sun reports that Walliams' lawsuit accuses Fremantle of a data protection breach over the leaked transcript, with the comedian hiring a specialist law firm.
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Digital Spy has contacted representatives for both Walliams and Freemantle for further comment.
After the transcripts were published by The Guardian in late 2022, Walliams issued an apology saying: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain's Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry."
In their own statement, ITV said: "We do not condone the language outlined in these allegations, and we have spoken to the producers of Britain's Got Talent. Duty of care towards all participants on any of our programmes is always of paramount importance and we have protocols and guidelines in place for all our production partners."
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Ahead of the show's 2023 series, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli was announced as Walliams' replacement.
Walliams' departure came after a decade as a judge on the show and winning Best Judge at the National Television Awards in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Britain's Got Talent airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
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