Welsh council removes David Walliams books from libraries amid allegations

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A council is to temporarily remove children’s books by David Walliams who is accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour from its libraries. 

The 55-year-old, who rose to fame through the comedy sketch show Little Britain which the BBC has removed from its iPlayer streaming service, was unmasked this week as the celebrity who tried to block publication of his identity amid allegations of “inappropriate sexual activities” with girls and young women. 

Multiple women have accused David Walliams of sexually inappropriate behaviour and grooming including when they were teenagers, according to an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News. Walliams has denied all allegations against him and breaking the law. 

Though best known for his television work Walliams also launched a career as a children’s author with more than 60 million global sales of his children’s books. 

They include The Boy In The Dress, Fing and Gangsta Granny, which was turned into a one-hour BBC special in 2013, followed by a sequel starring Sheridan Smith in 2022. 

His publisher HarperCollins dropped him in December 2025, after an investigation into allegations he had “harassed” young women, which Walliams strongly denied. 

Earlier this month, theme park Alton Towers permanently closed its World Of David Walliams attraction, which featured rides inspired by the books. 

Monmouthshire County Council has now said it will remove his works from its library shelves for the time being. 

A spokesperson said: “Monmouthshire County Council has taken a decision to temporarily remove children’s books by David Walliams from its library service. 

“Our libraries follow established professional principles around stock management and access to books. Individual titles are routinely reviewed and may be removed or replaced as part of the normal process of refreshing library stock, taking account of factors such as age, condition, demand and other external factors. 

“No other material, outside of the children’s books referenced, is currently held within our stock.” 

Neighbouring Torfaen Borough Council has said it doesn’t plan to remove his books from its library stock. 

It issued a statement that had also been provided to the media by Libraries Connected, a charity which represents public libraries.  

The statement, attributed to Torfaen Libraries, read: “Libraries follow established professional and ethical principles around stock availability – the starting point is that all books should be made available to readers unless the content of those books is illegal.  

“But libraries continually refresh their collections in response to what their users want to read.  

“In this case, we understand that demand for Walliams’s books has fallen significantly in recent years. We would therefore expect the number of copies in circulation to decline naturally as they are replaced by newer and more popular titles, particularly as he is now without a publisher.” 

Mr Walliams had unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prevent publications of the claims against him because of the risk he would take his own life, after two previous suicide attempts.