Is David Walliams really in the loony bin?
David Walliams, the 55-year-old comedian and former Britain’s Got Talent judge, was detained under the Mental Health Act for assessment on 22 October 2026 and transferred to an NHS psychiatric hospital. Reports indicated he was in hospital when the High Court ruled against his injunction bid on 3 November.
Timeline of events
- May 2022 – The Guardian first approached Walliams about allegations of inappropriate conduct.
- 18 May 2026 – After receiving formal letters from both The Guardian and ITV News, Walliams attempted suicide and was admitted as a voluntary patient to a private psychiatric hospital.
- Summer 2026 – He absconded, attempted suicide again, was detained under the Mental Health Act for assessment, and later transferred to an NHS facility.
- 10 September 2026 – He was discharged after clinicians decided continued detention was no longer necessary.
- 22 October 2026 – He was detained again under the Mental Health Act and returned to an NHS hospital.
- 27 October – 3 November 2026 – The High Court heard and dismissed his injunction application.
- 9 November 2026 – The deadline for an appeal passed without a filing; The Guardian and ITV News published the following day.
Mr Justice Nicklin accepted that publication posed a “genuine and grave” suicide risk but ruled that existing inpatient treatment already provided substantial protection. He described any injunction as an “exceptionally serious interference” with press freedom and noted that the state’s role in safeguarding Walliams through hospital detention weighed against granting anonymity.
Allegations and response
The published accounts include claims from two women who say they met Walliams at age 15 and later had sexual relationships with him; both described the encounters as grooming. Additional allegations involve alleged pursuit of women connected to Britain’s Got Talent and a junior staff member at his former publisher HarperCollins. Thirty sources contributed to the joint investigation.
Walliams has denied wrongdoing. In a letter to journalists he wrote that he “behaved thoughtlessly” in some past relationships and regretted not always considering others’ feelings, but insisted he had never abused his status or broken the law. His lawyers maintain he did not target anyone because of vulnerability or youth and that gifts or offers of help carried no expectation of sexual return.
Legal and policy context
The failed injunction attempt has prompted renewed political scrutiny of privacy orders. Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones told MPs the government is “concerned” about the use of such injunctions and is examining whether further measures are needed, while acknowledging that individual applications are decided independently by the courts.
No criminal charges have been reported against Walliams, and the Mental Health Act detentions were framed by clinicians and the court as treatment measures rather than punitive ones.
What remains unknown is his precise current location or legal status. The 10 November 2026 reports stated he “remains in a psychiatric hospital,” but no subsequent evidence confirms he remains detained or has been released.
