David Walliams quits Britain's Got Talent

The comedian and children’s author is to step down from his role following a backlash from resurfaced clips from a 2007 comedy sketch and comments he has made about contestants.

The BGT judge, 51, was forced to apologise earlier this year after comments he made about contestants on the ITV show were leaked.

A leaked transcript from the ITV show saw that David made crude references about one woman and called a pensioner a 'c***' during filming for Britain's Got Talent back in 2020.

David, who has been a judge on BGT since 2012, apologised for making 'disrespectful comments', which were made during breaks for filming the show.

Earlier this month he said: “I would like to apologise to the people. These were private conversations and, like most conversations with friends, were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”

This is not the first time the actor has been plagued by controversy. In 2020 comedy Little Britain was removed from streaming services after blackface criticism. The series, starring David Walliams and Matt Lucas, has come under fire recently because of the use of blackface in some sketches.

It was also criticised for its portrayal of black women by white men after Walliams sported black make-up and a large afro wig to play the overweight black woman Desiree DeVere.

It is unknown who will head judge join Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon for the 16th series of the talent show.