David Walliams removed from children’s book festival line-up | UK News

David Walliams has been removed from the line-up for a children’s book event.

Book retailer Waterstones has confirmed the author will no longer appear at its Children’s Book Festival.

It comes after the TV star was dropped by his publisher HarperCollins UK following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

Walliams strongly denies allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

A statement from Waterstones said: “HarperCollins have confirmed that David Walliams will no longer be appearing at our festival in Dundee.”

The festival will span across three locations, also including Lincoln and Taunton. The Dundee event will take place on 6 and 7 February.

Walliams has been removed from the listed speakers list on the festival website.

The 54-year-old comedian, who shot to fame with the BBC sketch show Little Britain, is one of the country’s best-selling children’s writers.

He has written more than 40 books, which have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and been translated into 55 languages, according to his website.

A spokesperson for HarperCollins UK said it had decided not to release any new titles by Walliams “after careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO”.

“HarperCollins takes employee well-being extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns,” they added.

“To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters.”

In a statement later on Friday, a spokesperson for the comedian and children’s author said: “David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins.

“He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.”

The news followed a report from The Daily Telegraph that Walliams was dropped after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women.