Fylde coast bookseller who hosted visits by David Walliams expresses 'shock and sadness' at revelations

A Fylde bookshop owner has spoken of her shock and sadness after news broke of the the allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming against author and comedian David Walliams.

The star of TV’s Little Britain who was also a best-selling author of a raft of children’s books made personal appearances at Book Bean and Ice Cream in Kirkham last year and in 2023, attracting massive turnouts of fans on both occasions.

Young readers and their families formed lengthy queues down the town’s main Poulton Street for the opportunity to meet Walliams, have books signed and photographs taken.

“They were highly successful events and I have to say David was absolutely fantastic on both occasions,” said Elaine Silverwood, proprietor of Book Bean and Ice cream.

“”He was so courteous and professional throughout and took time to make sure every single one of those attending, many of whom waited hours to see him, had a memorable time.

“I have organised a lot of author visits and I always think a good test of an author’s personality is how they are behind the scenes. David was exemplary to all the staff and everyone here and it was the case that his first visit went so well, he actually made a special request to return.

“Those memories of two wonderful occasions just added to the shock when I saw the news about him yesterday.

“I had read in the trade press about publisher Harper Collins dropping his books so I was aware something was happening but the overwhelming feeling was sadness when the revelations came out.

“His books have always been very popular and the vast majority of children asked who there favourite author is will say David Walliams.

“Purely by coincidence, we have none on the shelves at the moment as space is required for Christmas stock. Now that Harper Collins aren’t printing any more of his books, the number of copies will diminish anyway. but it is down to each individual bookseller whether they stock his books or not.”

Walliams was yesterday named as part of an investigation by the Guardian and ITV News involving accusations of grooming teenage girls as young as 15 and abusing his position to pursue women.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said the claims were the “latest in a long line of reported abuses of power” while comedian Lucy Beaumont called for better industry safeguarding processes.

Walliams, 55, has denied any wrongdoing and unsuccessfully tried to obtain an injunction to prevent the reporting of allegations against him.

He is yet to comment further since the publication of his name.

One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a “sexual assault”, while multiple women accused him of “grooming” them as teenagers.

Ms Nandy pledged she would be meeting with senior media and entertainment industry members to “draw a line in the sand”.

She added: “A decade and a half on from the revelations about Jimmy Savile and 10 years on from the Me Too movement, we must finally take meaningful steps to end abuse and harassment in sectors where the power imbalances are huge and careers are built on contacts and reputation.”

In a letter understood to have been sent months ago by Walliams to journalists working on the investigations, he denied being a “sexual predator”.

The television personality said while he “behaved thoughtlessly” at times and regretted not taking people’s feelings “properly into account”, he had not broken the law.

The letter said: “Whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did.”

Walliams sought the court injunction over concerns he would take his own life, after two previous suicide attempts.

Judge Mr Justice Nicklin refused the bid for an injunction, ruling it would be an “exceptionally serious interference” with freedom of expression.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed it contacted the Guardian and ITV News to “ensure that any potential victims” are “made aware of how they could report any criminal allegations to police”, after the sexual misconduct claims were made.

After the allegations emerged on Tuesday, Walliams was also dropped by his literary agency, Independent Talent Group, and the BBC began removing his shows, including Little Britain, from iPlayer.

Walliams had his Labour Party membership suspended and Downing Street described the allegations as “deeply troubling”.