David Williams has reportedly suffered from suicidal thoughts since being booted from Britain’s Got Talent, where he claims his microphone was on all day during filming, court papers have revealed.
The comedian, 52, quit the ITV show in November 2021, two weeks after he was caught calling an older contestant a ‘s***’ during a break in filming.
It was revealed in September, ten months after leaving his £1.5million-a-year judging role, that David is suing his former bosses at Britain’s Got Talent and is seeking significant damages.
Now David has allegedly accused London-based Fremantle, which produces reality series for ITVillegal violation of data protection.
According to the High Court court documents he obtained SunDavid also shared how he struggles with “active suicidal thoughts” and has “lost the ability to be funny” because of fears his comments would be leaked without his consent.
Claims: David Walliams has reportedly suffered from suicidal thoughts since being booted from Britain’s Got Talent, where he claims his microphone was on all day, court papers reveal
High Court court proceedings reportedly see David accuse Fremantle of recording, transcribing and retaining private conversations for ten years.
He reportedly claimed that his microphone was on and recorded throughout the day during filming, including when he went to the bathroom.
According to The Sun, his lawyers claimed in a 21-page document: “The claimant (Walliams) now understands that, unknown to him at the time, his microphone was on and recording throughout the day of filming, including breaks, during his recording. entire term as a judge on the show.’
Fremantle is said to have produced and retained transcripts of the audio recordings, which David claims included private information “not relevant to the production” – such as conversations about his marriage, sex life and family disputes.
The transcripts reportedly totaled 1,700 hours of audio over ten years, as well as 41,526 hours of visual footage from 191 days of filming.
A copy of the transcripts was also reportedly made available to Simon Cowell’s co-production firm Cizzo on request, but a source told The Sun none were ever requested.
“All four judges regularly made jokes using foul and/or sexual language: such was the culture among the judges on the show,” his lawyers allegedly claimed.
They claimed that the judges made such jokes to keep themselves entertained during long days of filming and that they never intended the remarks to be made public, as they were “private conversations between grown-up friends”.
David is reportedly seeking the £1m he could have won from Britain’s Got Talent, as well as £1.7m in lost earnings and £3.4m to cover future losses for at least two years – a total of £6.1m.
Court case: David (pictured in 2019) has reportedly accused London-based Fremantle, which produces the ITV reality series, of unlawfully breaching data protection
However, sources have reportedly claimed this could rise to as much as £10million, as David is said to be seeking unspecified damages for psychiatric damage, distress and anxiety, loss of control over his private information and legal costs.
David’s earnings have reportedly fallen from £3.7m in 2022 to just £101,800 in the first five months of 2023, according to court documents seen by The Sun.
The lawsuit allegedly claims that David’s reputation and career were ruined by the fallout from Britain’s Got Talent, and says he suffered from “severe depression, including suicidal thoughts.”
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Mark Collins reportedly said in the report that the leaking of the transcripts “had a profound, serious and, at times, very worrying effect on his mental health”, with David suffering from sleep problems and negative thoughts.
Fremantle told The Sun: “We have had a long and productive relationship with David and are therefore surprised and saddened by this legal action.
“For our part, we remain available and open to dialogue in order to resolve this issue in an amicable manner.”
“However, in the meantime we will investigate the various allegations and are prepared to defend ourselves vigorously if necessary.”
MailOnline has contacted Fremantle, Sico and Simon and David’s representatives for comment.
David, who is said to have paid legal costs of £10,569, quit Britain’s Got Talent last November, two weeks after he was caught calling an older contestant a whore during a break from filming.
He was also heard disparaging one contestant, calling her “a bit of an annoying girl you meet in the pub who thinks you want to fuck them but you don’t”.
Fallout: David (pictured in 2022) also reportedly said he was battling “active suicidal thoughts” and had “lost the ability to be funny” for fear his comments would be leaked
Comedian Claire Harrison McCartney later claimed the comments were directed at her and branded David a “sad misogynist”, but producers denied the remarks were directed at her.
Bruno Tonioli later took over as a talent show judge, signing big money.
A source told The Sun that David decided to leave at the time: “He didn’t take the decision lightly but it feels like it’s time to move on.”
“David decided to call it quits after a ten-year run.” He wants to leave on a high after a wonderful time.
“His team have been quietly holding talks over the past few days which have made it clear that David is preparing to step down – and then the producers will start thinking about who could replace him.”
But court documents filed at London’s High Court in September saw David accuse the firm of breaching data protection over the leaked transcript, bringing the judge’s 10-year run on the show to a swift end.
Although David is not suing show boss Simon, it is understood there is now ‘some distance’ between the pair, according to sources close to them.
Zvezda hired the legal company Brandsmiths, which specializes in data protection violations.
Reports last year claimed that David had quit BGT after lewd and lascivious comments he made while filming the show at the London Palladium in 2020 were exposed.
But sources at the time suggested he was actually pushed after Fremantle hired a crisis management team to manage the scandal that led to the former Little Britain comic’s apology.
The comments, made in January 2020 during auditions at the London Palladium, were caught on the programme’s microphones.
He and his lawyers argued at the time that these were private conversations that were never meant to be broadcast, but two weeks later he was ousted.
The Fallout: Comedian (pictured in June 2022), 52, left the ITV show in November 2021, two weeks after he was caught calling an older contestant a ‘s***’ during a break in filming
Drama: He was also heard calling one contestant ‘a slightly boring girl you meet in the pub who thinks you want to fuck them, but you don’t’. Comedian Claire Harrison McCartney (pictured in 2020) later claimed the comments were about her, but the producers denied this
In one incident, the senior performer had a light-hearted banter with the judges in which he mocked Williams’ performance, the Guardian claims.
After the audition, the pensioner left, after which Walliams reportedly described him as a ‘c**t’ three times.
In a separate incident, after the contestant left the stage, Walliams remarked: ‘She’s like that slightly annoying girl you meet in the pub who thinks you want to fuck them but you don’t.’ He later added: ‘I know, she’s just like, ‘Oh, screw it!’ I said, she thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t.
“It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like, ‘Yeah, I bet you know!’
‘No, I do not know! I had a little abs, but now it’s going, now it’s shriveled up in my body.’