For years, David Walliams was at the very top of British entertainment — a beloved Britain’s Got Talent judge, one half of an iconic comedy duo, a best-selling author, and a man constantly photographed with glamorous dates. He once joked that he was Simon Cowell’s “number one girl”, leaping into the music mogul’s arms on red carpets and playing up their mischievous chemistry.
But everything changed after he was forced off Britain’s Got Talent when offensive comments he made during auditions — including calling an elderly contestant a vulgar slur and making crude remarks about a woman — were leaked. The fallout cost him his job, his closeness with Cowell, and, according to friends, left the comedian feeling like “a troubled soul” whose confidence had been shaken to the core.
Industry insiders say Simon has “gone to every possible length” to distance himself from him, and the pair are no longer in contact at all.
Away from his career, Walliams has long struggled with complicated romantic dynamics — often falling for unattainable women, with many of his rumoured relationships later revealed to have been platonic or sexless. Since divorcing model Lara Stone ten years ago, he has remained single and candid about the loneliness that sometimes shadows his life.
This week, the 54-year-old revealed one of the most painful personal details yet: he will not spend Christmas with his 12-year-old son Alfred, as it is Lara’s turn to have him for the holiday. He admitted the thought of waking up alone on Christmas Day brings a “melancholy that always creeps in”, a theme he channels into his new children’s book Santa and Son, which follows a boy navigating life with separated parents.
The former Little Britain star turned to writing after confessing that, post-BGT, he suffered suicidal thoughts and feared he had “lost the ability to be funny”. Though still a publishing powerhouse, his TV return has stalled; for now, his only screen-adjacent project is a podcast with Matt Lucas, Making A Scene.
His career troubles run deeper than BGT. In 2022, Netflix, BBC and BritBox pulled Little Britain and Come Fly With Me amid conversations about outdated portrayals and blackface sketches — a moment David described as part of the “rough end of cancel culture”.
His love life has brought its own heartbreaks. He once said he fell for singer Natalie Imbruglia “like a ton of bricks”, only for her to insist he was more of a “gay best friend”. Lisa Snowdon admitted he had seen her naked — but clarified “we’ve never slept together”. And lingerie model Lauren Budd revealed their three-month ‘romance’ never progressed beyond holding hands and dinner-table whispers.
A longtime friend described him bluntly: “He is incredibly kind and generous, but deeply unhappy underneath it all. He is a very lonely man.”
Still, Walliams insists he hasn’t given up. He says he’s looking forward to taking Alfred on a Maldives holiday before Christmas, and remains hopeful he can one day make a meaningful return to TV — even as he continues to rebuild both his career and his sense of self.
