Overview
- HarperCollins confirmed Friday that it has removed David Walliams’s backlist and will gradually withdraw remaining stock and digital editions from sale.
- The publisher reiterated that its action follows internal reporting processes and cited employee wellbeing and privacy as reasons for the decision.
- Walliams’s team says he was not told of any allegations by HarperCollins, that he denies inappropriate behaviour, and that he is taking legal advice.
- Earlier steps included HarperCollins’s December 2025 decision not to commission new Walliams titles and the Waterstones Children’s Book Festival removing him from its programme.
- HarperCollins published 23 Walliams children’s books that sold more than 60 million copies and spawned TV adaptations, so the removal has wide commercial and cultural consequences and could prompt further industry distancing.