David Williams’s Britain’s Got Talent judging run ended after offensive comments made during filming breaks became public. He had sat on the panel from 2012 to 2022, and Bruno Tonioli later replaced him.
That ten-year stretch mattered because it placed Walliams in a prime-time role that reached a much broader family audience than his earlier work. His career had already moved through British comedy, television and children’s books, but the judging seat gave him a different kind of visibility — and a different level of scrutiny.
2012 to 2022
Walliams joined Britain’s Got Talent in 2012 and remained there until 2022. The role became one of the most visible parts of a career that also included Little Britain, Little Britain USA, Come Fly with Me, Big School and Britain’s Got Talent’s sister territory in Australia, where he also judged Australia’s Got Talent in 2022.
His route to that point ran through a long string of screen credits and stage work. He completed his degree at the University of Bristol in 1992, met Matt Lucas during his time with the National Youth Theatre, and adopted Walliams professionally after joining Equity because another performer already used the surname Williams.
Little Britain to the panel
Rock Profile began in 1999, then Little Britain ran on television from 2003 to 2006 and won BAFTA comedy awards in 2004 and 2005. Walliams and Matt Lucas shared the comedy performance award in 2005, before Little Britain USA followed in 2008 and Come Fly with Me aired in 2010.
He also played Greville White in Capturing Mary, Gibbis in Doctor Who, Tommy Beresford in Partners in Crime and Keith Church in Big School. That mix of comedy, acting and writing helped turn him into a familiar television figure before the judging job made him a weekly presence in family viewing.
Offensive comments
The comments that ended the role were made during filming breaks and later became public. Walliams apologised for the remarks, but the apology did not stop the break with Britain’s Got Talent.
His career is unusual in the way it combines broad success with criticism, apologies and major professional setbacks. Bruno Tonioli’s arrival filled the vacancy, but the sharper issue is how quickly a long-running television seat can disappear once private remarks become public.
What were the offensive comments that ended his Britain’s Got Talent judging role? That remains the unanswered part of the story, and it is the piece that still defines how this exit will be judged.
