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The Fall of David Walliams: From National Treasure to Closed Ride By Dan | Restore Britain For nearly twenty years, David Walliams was everywhere. He made Little Britain, wrote more than 40 children's books that sold over 60 million copies, sat on the Britain's Got Talent panel beside Simon Cowell, and took over a corner of Alton Towers. Few entertainers have had a career that big. Today that corner has gone. Alton Towers has permanently closed the World of David Walliams, five years after it opened. The park says the decision came from a regular review of its attractions, and it hasn't connected the closure to anything else. But the timing tells its own story. In December 2025, The Daily Telegraph reported that HarperCollins had investigated Walliams over his alleged behaviour towards young female staff. According to the paper, one staffer got a five-figure payoff and junior employees were told to work with him in pairs. Walliams strongly denies behaving inappropriately. His spokesperson said he was never told about any allegations and was given no chance to respond. He has not been charged with anything, and he is entitled to be treated as innocent. Even so, the industry around him has moved fast. HarperCollins stopped publishing new Walliams titles, and in September it pulled his entire back catalogue. His TV agency, YMU, no longer represents him. He had already left Britain's Got Talent in 2022, after recordings of him insulting contestants were leaked, and he apologised for those remarks. What does this say about Britain's celebrity culture? We build people up into untouchable national treasures, hand them our children's bookshelves and our Saturday nights, and rarely ask questions while the money is flowing. Then, when allegations surface, institutions that once couldn't get enough of them drop them without a word of explanation. That's not justice for anyone. If the allegations are true, people inside those companies knew things for years and said nothing. If they aren't, a man has lost his career without ever facing a hearing. Either way, the public deserves openness, not quiet payoffs, confidentiality agreements and press releases about "operational considerations". Ordinary workers would never be allowed to settle a harassment complaint with a cheque and carry on. Neither should the rich and famous. One rule for all, whoever you are and however many books you've sold. I'm a paying member of Restore Britain, but I write in a personal capacity. These are my own views, not the party's, and I get no money from them. Sources: BBC on the Alton Towers closure, Deadline on HarperCollins and YMU, Deadline on the 2022 BGT exit