David Walliams is facing renewed scrutiny after footage of a controversial 2007 Little Britain stage routine resurfaced, showing the comedian involving teenage boys in a game called 'Hide the Sausage.' The clip has attracted fresh attention amid sexual misconduct allegations involving the comedian, including claims concerning his interactions with teenage girls and young women.
Walliams has denied being a sexual predator and said he has not broken the law. The resurfaced footage has also reignited questions about how the routine, which involved physical contact with young male audience volunteers, was presented as comedy at the time.
A 2007 Stage Routine That Has Returned to the Spotlight
The footage comes from Little Britain Down Under, a BBC documentary following Walliams and Matt Lucas during their Australian tour in 2007. During the performance, Walliams appeared as 'Des Kaye,' a fictional former children's entertainer portrayed as a sex offender.
David Walliams molested young men in humiliating Hide The Sausage game https://t.co/hYJIPW476u
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) November 11, 2026
He invited three young male volunteers, reportedly aged between 16 and 18, onto the stage to take part in 'Hide the Sausage.' The routine involved Walliams making suggestive remarks and physically interacting with the volunteers.
In one particularly uncomfortable moment, he addressed a 16-year-old participant, telling him, 'You're a big boy for 16 aren't you – that's what I'll tell the judge.' The footage also showed Walliams pulling down the teenager's trousers and underwear as part of the act.
An Earlier Complaint Challenged the Comedy Routine
The routine was not entirely free from criticism when it first aired. A segment from the same 2007 BBC documentary showed Walliams reading a letter from a viewer who had experienced sexual abuse as a child.
In the letter, the viewer criticised the routine for making light of sexual abuse involving the boys. They also warned that presenting such behaviour as entertainment could make abuse seem acceptable or give perpetrators a reason to dismiss its seriousness.
Walliams previously defended the routine in a February 2026 interview, claiming it had been performed at 250 shows on the UK and Australian tour and that not a single person had complained. He argued that viewing a short clip without its original context could give audiences a different impression of the performance.
How the Allegations Led to a High Court Battle
The allegations against Walliams became public on 10 November 2026, following a three-year investigation by The Guardian and ITV News. The investigation involved 30 sources with first-hand accounts of his alleged conduct.
The media organisations first approached Walliams about allegations of inappropriate behaviour in May 2022. They later joined forces in April 2023 to pursue a wider investigation.
In May 2026, the outlets sent Walliams letters outlining their findings and requesting his response. He subsequently sought a High Court injunction to prevent the reports from being published, arguing that their release posed a serious risk to his mental health and safety.
On 3 November, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed Walliams' application for an injunction, finding that preventing publication would constitute a serious interference with freedom of expression and the public interest in receiving information. Walliams was given permission to appeal, but the deadline passed on 9 November without an appeal being filed.
The investigation was published the following day. Multiple women accused Walliams of sexually inappropriate behaviour, including two who said they first met him when they were 15. One woman described an alleged encounter as sexual assault. Walliams denied the allegations, insisting that he was not a sexual predator and had not broken the law.
In his letter to the journalists, Walliams acknowledged that some women with whom he had casual sexual relationships had expressed hurt or anger over their experiences. However, he maintained that he had never abused his position of power. The resurfaced 2007 footage has since added another dimension to the controversy, bringing renewed attention to his past comedy performances alongside the allegations now facing him.
