David Walliams says he had suicidal thoughts after remarks he made as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent were made public, according to a lawsuit against the show’s production company.
Walliams, who was a judge on the ITV talent show between 2012 and 2022, is suing FremantleMedia for misuse of private information and for breaching the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
High Court documents released on Tuesday say Walliams accuses the company of causing him mental harm and financial loss.
The TV star, real name David Edward Williams, left Britain’s Got Talent in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about contestants’ auditions during filming breaks in January 2020 at the London Palladium.
The remarks came to light in November 2022 after a transcript of them was leaked to the Guardian newspaper.
The court filing says the 52-year-old believes producers “kept transcripts… of everything he said” during his time on the show and argues that defendant FremantleMedia “must have been the primary source of the transcripts” that were revealed .
According to the documents, Walliams and the show’s other judges routinely left their microphones on until filming had ended.
The comedian suggested that he is only recorded when the contestants are on stage or during behind-the-scenes filming.
Walliams claims private conversations, including his stories of his struggles with food addiction, the death of his father and his wife leaving him, may have been recorded by the production company.
The document contained details of a draft report by Dr Mark Collins, a former consultant psychiatrist and practicing psychotherapist who treated Walliams.
It said the leaked transcript had a “profound, serious and at times very disturbing impact on (Walliams’) mental health.”
He also said Walliams was “suffering from uncontrollable negative thoughts”, including “active suicidal ideation”, and said he was “taking higher doses of medication than at any time during my tenure as his consultant psychiatrist”.
Walliams also claims his income from television and other public appearances has been “reduced greatly” as a result of the negative publicity surrounding the story.
A Fremantle spokesman said: “We have had a long and productive relationship with David and are therefore surprised and saddened by this legal action.
“For our part, we remain accessible and open to dialogue for a peaceful resolution of this issue. However, in the meantime, we will review the various charges and are prepared to vigorously defend ourselves if necessary.”