DAVID Walliams was the staple of Britain's Got Talent for a decade.
That's why fans were left shocked when David Walliams suddenly quit after comments he made behind-the-scenes were made public.
What did David Walliams say?
On September 26, 2023, The Sun exclusively revealed that David Walliams is seeking significant damages after he was dropped from Britain's Got Talent.
He stepped down from his role as judge on the ITV show after a transcript of comments he made about contestants during a break in filming were made public in November 2022.
In the leaked transcripts David Walliams called one OAP a "c***" three times and said of another: "She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don't."
The derogatory remarks were picked up on his microphone during auditions at the London Palladium in January 2020.
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His comments were the only instances of derogatory remarks about contestants in the leaked transcripts from three episodes.
There is no suggestion that Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, or Amanda Holden made offensive remarks about contestants.
ITV has since said it does not "condone" the language used and had spoken to producers of BGT.
David apologised after the comments were made public, and he then went on to resign from his job.
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The entertainer and his lawyers argue the comments were part of private conversations that were never intended for broadcast.
David is now suing BGT production company, Fremantle, over the damaging leak, and lodged papers – under his real name David Edward Williams – at London's High Court on September 21, 2023.
He accuses them of a data protection breach over the leaked transcript which ended his BGT judging career.
David has hired legal powerhouse, Brandsmiths, who specialise in data protection breaches, to fight his case.
The Sun contacted representatives for Walliams but Brandsmiths declined to comment. Fremantle also declined to comment.
When did David Walliams leave Britain's Got Talent?
David stepped down from BGT in November 2022, following the leak.
In a statement issued before he quit, he said: "I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain's Got Talent in 2020.
"These were private conversations and – like most conversations with friends – were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry."
David joined the talent show in 2012, and was a judge on the show for decade.
He first joined BGT alongside pop star Alesha, with the pair replacing Michael McIntyre and David Hasselhoff.
During his ten years as judge, he proved popular, and even scooped three Best Judge gongs at the National Television Awards.
Away from BGT, he is a best-selling author, comedian, and TV and film star.
Who replaced David Walliams on Britain's Got Talent?
In January 2023, it was revealed that Bruno Tonioli would be taking over from David.
The popular dancer made his debut on BGT in May 2023, which went down very well with fans.
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Before BGT, Bruno was best known for being a judge on Strictly Come dancing – a role he had from when it started in 2004, until 2021.
Across the pond he is well known for being on the judging panel of Dancing With The Stars.
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