Families and Retailers Remove David Walliams Books Amid New Allegations

A joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News published this week has renewed scrutiny on the popular children's author David Walliams. The report alleges that Walliams used his professional status to pursue young women and girls for sexual relationships, including those as young as 15 years old. While Walliams denies these claims, the revelations have prompted a swift reaction from readers and retailers across the United Kingdom.

In west London, Sarah, a mother of three children aged four, six, and eight, is currently removing Walliams titles from her home. Her children have long enjoyed the author's work, even dressing up as his characters for World Book Day. Sarah plans to replace the books with works by other authors to minimize disruption. She intends to explain to her children that his personal choices were not ideal and that the family prefers to read different stories.

For many independent booksellers, the recent news confirms decisions they had already made. Helen Tamblyn-Saville, who owns Wonderland Bookshop in Retford, stopped stocking Walliams in 2020. She cited a mismatch with her shop's values and noted themes of classism, misogyny, and racism in his writing. Tamblyn-Saville also recalled turning down an event with the author in 2025, feeling that his commercial success had shielded him from earlier concerns.

Other independent stores have also dropped his titles. Griffin Books in Penarth removed his books approximately 18 months ago due to the quality of the writing and the use of stereotypes. The Chicken and Frog bookshop in Essex has not carried his work for ten years. Urmi, owner of Pickled Pepper Books in north London, stated that her shop stopped stocking him five years ago after hearing industry rumors. She believes that only profit-driven retailers are removing the books now.

Major retail chains have moved quickly to respond to the allegations. The Works, a budget retailer, has removed all Walliams titles from sale. TG Jones has confirmed that it no longer sells his books either in stores or online. Waterstones is in discussions with his publisher, HarperCollins, regarding the return of the limited stock remaining in a few of its shops.

The publisher itself had already taken steps to distance itself from the author. HarperCollins halted the publication of new Walliams books in December of last year. In September, the company dropped his entire backlist from its catalog. This follows a 2021 decision to remove a specific story about a Chinese boy from future editions of The World's Worst Children after complaints regarding racial stereotypes.

Sales data indicates a sharp decline in demand, though the books have not vanished from the market. NielsenIQ BookData figures show that retailers sold 7,497 Walliams books in the past four weeks, generating £48,400. This is a significant drop from the 102,000 copies sold in the same period last year. However, his titles have still sold nearly 108,000 copies this year, with total earnings exceeding £153 million since 2008.

Public libraries face a complex balancing act. Isobel Hunter, CEO of the charity Libraries Connected, noted that while the allegations are disturbing, a legal principle suggests books should remain available unless their content is unlawful. Most libraries plan to keep the books in their collections until they are naturally removed under standard stock policies, though they are not required to display or promote them. Hunter added that demand for these titles has dropped significantly in recent years.

Schools are taking a more proactive approach, with several teachers reporting that they are removing Walliams books from classroom shelves. For parents like Sarah, the decision is driven by a desire to teach children that actions have consequences and that it is important to act when something feels wrong.