HarperCollins is set to phase out remaining copies of David Walliams’s books after announcing last year that they would no longer publish him.
The book publisher said last year that it had dropped the children’s author following reports that he was accused of behaving inappropriately towards young women. Walliams strongly denies any claims and said at the time that he had not been informed about an investigation by HarperCollins.
HarperCollins has now confirmed that it has dropped Walliams’s backlist, according to The Bookseller. The publication reported that the publisher will gradually phase out stock of Walliams’s books in shops as well as e-book and audio versions available online.
The 55-year-old former Britain’s Got Talent judge published his first book in 2008 called The Boy in the Dress. He has become one of the UK’s highest-earning authors.
HarperCollins has published all of his children’s books, beginning with The Boy in the Dress in 2008, as well as his picture books and short story collections. They have sold over 60 million copies worldwide and six of them have been adapted for TV.
Those titles – which include bestsellers Mr Stink, Gangsta Granny and Ratburger – have since disappeared from the HarperCollins website, along with his author page.
In December, HarperCollins announced that “after careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO”, it would not be publishing any new titles by Walliams. It came after The Telegraph reported that a complaint from a junior colleague about his conduct lead to other staff members being interviewed and subsequently, he was dropped.
Former employees alleged to the publication that they were advised not to visit his home and to work in pairs when meeting with him.
A spokesperson for Harper Collins said at the time: “HarperCollins takes employee wellbeing extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns. To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters.”
Walliams denied the allegations of inappropriate behaviour, with a spokesperson for him saying in a statement: “David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins. He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice.”
He was dropped by the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Festival after the claims came out and the BBC said it has “no future projects directly involving” the presenter.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Walliams released free daily audio stories for kids for 30 days called The World’s Worst Children. He has also written the autobiography Camp David.