Everyone knew about Walliams

Even so, another rich and powerful man has been protected at women's expense

I’ve been waiting for my phone to ping with the news for years. I am an author, and a Harper Collins author - the same publisher as David Walliams.

The various writer’s whatsapp and facebook groups I’m in, have all known. It has been referred to over and over again as an ‘open secret’.

But at the same time, the women discussing Walliams in these groups have been cautious. Often, he has not been named, but simply called, ‘that children’s author who has it coming’, ‘the creepy one beginning with D’ etc. Because women know. They know he is lawyered up and ready to destroy careers that pale into insignificance next to his. They know that journalists have been looking into this story for years, but that they have been forced into silence by Walliams legal team. They know who holds the power.

And today, my phone finally pinged: the truth is out. Well, the ice on the giant frozen lake of truth has been chipped a bit, anyway. This afternoon the Telegraph ran the story of their investigation into his ‘inappropriate behaviour towards women’, an investigation that, as far as I know, has been ongoing for two or three years, at least - although the Telegraph claim it only began last year.

There is a lot of reading between the lines to do here. The Telegraph admit they have been investigating Walliams, but they also chose to break the story on the back of an announcement that Harper Collins have dropped the author - a big deal since, according to the Bookseller, he has sold 25.7 million books for £153.3 million for them since 2008.

It seems like it was this decision by Harper Collins that gave the Telegraph the confidence to publish that they had previously been lacking?

Added to this, we also know that the Harper Collins CEO Charlie Redmayne (of the mid-level dynastic UK family that includes actor Eddie Redmayne) departed his post suddenly and without explanation in October.

He was replaced by new CEO Kate Elton, who (in my writer’s whatsapps etc) many are crediting with the change in energy towards Walliams.

Whether or not Redmayne’s abrupt departure had anything to do with the Walliams story remains to be seen. What does seem to be the case is that Kate Elton’s arrival has signalled a change in approach to Walliams. If we were to speculate, we might wonder if she, as a woman, has decided that this ‘open secret’ has gone on long enough.

The scant details in the Telegraph article are utterly damning, and chime in with what I have heard ‘on the grapevine’.

We know, in 2023/24, he was investigated by Harper Collins, after a junior employee complained about he ‘harrassed’ her.

Following the investigation, the woman who raised these concerns was given a five figure payout and left her job.

Added to this, female Harper Collins staff who were working with Walliams were advised to work ‘in pairs’ and told not to visit his home.

Can we just pause here? This happened in 2024. A woman’s silence bought for five figures? Female staff at one of the world’s biggest publishers told not to be alone with one of their highest earning male authors? As if this is a satisfactory solution? Twenty five years into the 21st century and post #MeToo? This is absolutely the most shocking part of this story for me.

The crux of all this is that Walliams was a big earner, and he could afford big lawyers. These two aspects of his power were felt to be more important than any of the women involved, or their rights, or their safety. More important than the truth.

In my lifetime I have seen powerful man after powerful man protected from harm, whilst women - and sometimes children - suffer lifelong consequences. I keep thinking it will end, but then another story breaks. And in Walliams’s story, I have also been a tiny bit-player, keeping quiet because I knew that, in this ‘open secret’ of publishing, my voice counted for nothing, and that anything I did say would be far more likely to damage my tiny little career than his giant one.

To be clear, I had no evidence against him, other than what might be called ‘gossip’ - a word that has its origin in ‘godsibs’, the women who once gathered around at a childbirth and shared their stories whilst a new life was brought into the world. Women have always done this: talked to each other. And over every century, their voices have been dismissed and disregarded, belittled as idle chit-chat. But it’s not idle. We know.

We see and we know and we say and nobody listens. Again and again this happens. Again and again, rich and powerful men are protected at women’s expense. Hollow words are spoken about men’s poor behaviour and women’s rights and how things are going to change. But they are worth no more than an abuser’s bunch of flowers - they merely placate us, until the next time. In reality, nothing changes.

Even now, there is 95% silence around the Walliams story and only 5% truth. Whether or not the story gathers pace or, courtesy of the DW legal team, fizzles out by January, remains to be seen. I know there are plenty of women out there who say they have a Walliams story. Maybe they will see safety in numbers, and tell it, not that many of them have not already told it, to wilfully deaf ears.

Oh and please note: I wanted to write ‘I know there are plenty of women out there with a Walliams story’, but I adjusted my sentence to ‘who say they have’ - just in case I got sued.

I introduced an element of doubt into women’s voices and stories, because a rich and powerful man wants to protect himself.

And that’s how this works.

Will it ever change? Somehow I doubt it.

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Or you can just tip me instead, well, it is Christmas!

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Oh and one more thing, I’ve written four books, would you like one?