David Walliams, one of the UK's best-known television personalities and children's book authors, reconciled with Britain's Got Talent production over exposed explicit remarks during an ITV talent show at the London Palladium in January 2020.
Walliams, the show's judge between 2012 and 2022, filed a lawsuit against producer Fremantle for misuse of private information and for breaching the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Fremantle Apologizes to David Walliams
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: David Walliams with his award for TV Judge in "Britain's Got Talent" during the National Television Awards 2018 at the O2 Arena on January 23, 2018 in London, England.
The high court documents that were released last month noted that Walliams accused the company of causing him mental trauma and financial loss. Fremantle has now apologized and settled with Walliams as they reached a resolution.
A Fremantle spokesperson said that they were pleased to achieve an amicable resolution to their dispute with Walliams, and they were sincerely sorry that the private conversations were published, which caused great distress to Walliams.
The spokesperson has already reviewed their production practices on the show to ensure that the production fully respects their talent's expectations while meeting the show's requirements. They also said they had enjoyed a great relationship with Walliams for many years.
They thanked Walliams for playing an important role in the Britain's Got Talent family and the show's enduring success and hoped to have more opportunities to work with him in the future.
Walliams' Explicit Remarks at ITV Talent Show
Walliam's lawyers, Thames TV, and producer Fremantle argued that the comments were part of a private conversation never intended for broadcast.
Walliams was recorded referring to one contestant as a "cunt." The remarks were captured in the transcript, and an older performer engaged in some lighthearted banter with the judges in which he slammed Walliams.
The transcript said that Walliams called the contestant "cunt" three times.
His comments were heard by microphones used to capture discussions between the judges while sitting at their desks in the center of the auditorium. The comments were recorded for potential broadcast in Britain's Got Talent or other spin-off shows featuring the judges' candid remarks between auditions.
Another incident occurred after a female contestant auditioned on the same show. Walliams commented after her performance and described the contestant as a boring girl you meet in the pub. He added, "It was the last thing on your mind. I was saying she thinks you want to fuck her, but you don't."
Walliams released an apology statement after the incident and said he apologized to the people he made disrespectful comments during breaks in filming for Britain's Got Talent in 2020. He said the remarks were private conversations with his friends and never intended to be shared.
He left Britain's Got Talent last year after apologizing for his disrespectful remarks to the contestants who auditioned at the London Palladium.
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