David Walliams Settles With ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Maker Fremantle Following Leaked Audio Claim
Britain’s Got Talent maker Fremantle has reached an “amicable resolution” with former host David Walliams following the leaked audio that led to his leaving the show.
A Fremantle spokesperson told PA that the outfit was “sincerely sorry” that Walliams’ “private conversations when a judge on Britain’s Got Talent were published, and the great distress this caused David.” Fremantle label Thames has produced the show with Simon Cowell’s Syco since its inception in 2007 and it is one of ITV’s most popular.
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“We have reviewed our production practices on the show to ensure they fully respect the expectations of our talent whilst satisfying the requirements of the show,” added Fremantle. “We thank David for being an important part of the Britain’s Got Talent family and the enduring success of the show and hope to have opportunities to work with him in the future.”
Walliams was a Britain’s Got Talent judge for a decade but in 2022 a Guardian investigation published disrespectful comments he had made about two contestants, which were leaked on a transcript. He was reported to have made explicit remarks about contestants during the recording of an episode of the talent show in January 2020. Thames said at the time they regarded Walliams’ comments as private, but that his use of language was “inappropriate.”
He subsequently sued Fremantle for misuse of private information and for breaching UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, with Deadline then revealing he had detailed lost work in his claim including a Channel 4 show that was canceled “entirely” following the Guardian story. A High Court filing also claimed his mental health had suffered as a result of the issue.
Walliams argued that while he was unaware exactly how the Guardian obtained a transcript of his comments, Fremantle must be the ultimate source of the transcript.
Walliams was replaced on Britain’s Got Talent by Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli last year. Deadline has reached out to Walliams’ reps for comment.
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