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Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand

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Cite

Feric, C. (2026, November 10). Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/jonathan-ross-russell-brand-david-walliams-the-guardian-andrew-sachs-b1304386.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-11-10 · by Carla Feric

Quick Summary

Jonathan Ross expressed his shock and horror over allegations of sexual misconduct against David Walliams and Russell Brand in statements made to the Press Association. The 65-year-old comedian addressed footage from 2004 where he joked about Walliams and 15-year-olds, clarifying that it was a scripted joke at the time, though he now regrets delivering it. Ross emphasized his unawareness of any misconduct by either Brand or Walliams during their friendships and professional associations, and reiterated support for those coming forward with allegations.
Written by AI on 2026-11-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

British comedian and children’s author David Walliams has been accused of using his celebrity status to groom and prey on young girls and teenagers for sexual purposes. The allegations were reported by the Guardian newspaper and ITV News after an investigation that included interviews with multiple women who claim he abused their trust and power dynamics. Walliams is alleged to have targeted individuals as young as 15, dating back years from his early success in shows like Little Britain to his later television appearances.

Walliams had been fighting in court to block the publication of these serious allegations but missed a deadline for an appeal at London's High Court on November 10th. The legal battle included claims that publishing such information would lead Walliams to attempt suicide, with his lawyer stating he attempted to take his own life twice and was hospitalized due to the stress of the accusations.

TV presenter Jonathan Ross broke his silence regarding the allegations, expressing horror over the claims and apologizing for a joke he made at the 2004 British Comedy Awards about Walliams "going home with 15-year-olds," which Walliams had laughed off at the time. Police in London have been urged to investigate any reports related to these accusations; however, as of now, no criminal charges have been filed against Walliams.

Written for “David Walliams Sexual Misconduct Allegations” on 2026-11-11, grounded in this article and the 35 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 143249 · logged 2026-11-11

Story

David Walliams Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Crime & Law · 36 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes Same event
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 64/100
Jonathan Ross joked David Walliams would ‘go home with’ 15-year-olds at comedy awards Different event
Evening Standard
Leans right Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss Jonathan Ross's past comments about David Walliams and allegations of sexual misconduct, they describe different aspects: Article A focuses on Ross's reaction to recent developments, while Article B describes the original incident at the British Comedy Awards in 2004.”
David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct and grooming girls as young as 15 Same event
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
The allegations against David Walliams - podcast Different event
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 65/100
“While both articles discuss allegations against David Walliams, they cover different aspects: Article A focuses on a podcast about the investigation, while Article B covers Jonathan Ross's reaction to the allegations and resurfaced footage from 2004.”
Moment Jonathan Ross jokes about David Walliams 'going home with 15-year-olds' at 2004 comedy awards Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 39 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes Jonathan Ross's joke about David Walliams at a 2004 comedy awards ceremony, while Article B focuses on Ross's reaction to recent allegations against Walliams and the resurfacing of the old footage.”
From Little Britain and Comic Relief to marrying a supermodel...then sex allegation scandal: A timeline of David Walliams's career highs and lows Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 39 of 187 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss allegations against David Walliams, ARTICLE A focuses on a timeline of his career highs and lows related to sexual misconduct claims, while ARTICLE B reports on Jonathan Ross's reaction to these allegations. They describe different aspects of the same broader situation but not the same specific incident.”
Jonathan Ross says he is 'horrified' by David Walliams allegations as he opens up about 'deeply shocking' joke about Little Britain comedian 'going home with 15-year-olds' Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 40 claims Outlet record 69/100
The teenage girls David Walliams preyed on in public: As police urge women to come forward, how grooming comic's behaviour was so well known Jonathan Ross joked about in in a room full of stars Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 6 of 46 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss allegations against David Walliams, Article A focuses on Jonathan Ross's reaction to the allegations and mentions the resurfacing of old footage, whereas Article B discusses the police urging women to come forward and provides more details about specific incidents. These are related but distinct reports.”
Revealed: David Walliams accused of using celebrity status to prey on young women for sex Different event
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 65/100
“While both articles discuss allegations against David Walliams, Article B focuses on Jonathan Ross's reaction to the allegations rather than the specific incident described in Article A.”
David Walliams accused of sexual misconduct and grooming teenage girls Different event
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 44 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss allegations against David Walliams, Article B focuses on Jonathan Ross's reaction to those allegations rather than describing the specific incident of Walliams being accused.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
36
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Carla Feric
103 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
Read More “This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect. “It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point. “Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him. “I also like to think that I would have acted upon that knowledge.”
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand
“Readers will also recognise many tropes from cinema: the disaster movie, the road movie, the couple on the run, the noir heroine with a gun in her bag, the apocalypse.
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · M John Harrison wins Booker Prize with dystopian novel The End Of Everything
Read More “Maybe it will make us think of things differently moving forward,” she said.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Stacey Solomon says media invasion of her privacy ‘should be illegal’
The 30-year-old will make his presenting debut alongside The One Show host Alex Jones, broadcaster Rylan Clark and BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox, while comedian Mel Giedroyc returns for her 10th year. West said being part of the charity’s flagship fundraising programme was “one of the biggest honours of my life so far”.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Tyler West says hosting Children In Need ‘means everything to me’
It also does something television cannot, and answers the question of who would have won if different players had been chosen as the traitors.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Claudia Winkleman gives Traitors tips to stage show host Nick Mohammed
However, she said she would also have voted to eliminate them had her vote been needed.
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“The message is optimistic – whatever your parameters may seem to be in life, whatever you can do, do it as much as you can.
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The big screen adaptation, which will be directed and produced by Mann, is in development, with filming reportedly postponed until January 2027.
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He competed on ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2003 alongside Danniella Westbrook and Toyah Willcox, finishing fourth overall.
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“Maybe I was surprised because before I had only ever gone out with someone for two years – and if it was two years it would have been a disaster at the end.”
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Also by Carla Feric
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Tyler West says hosting Children In Need ‘means everything to me’
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 103 articles by Carla Feric →

Topics

ITV ITV News The Guardian the British Comedy Awards the Press Association

Subjects

Walliams PERSON · 7× Ross PERSON · 4× David Walliams PERSON · 3× Brand PERSON · 2× Russell Brand PERSON · 2× ITV ORG · 1× ITV News ORG · 1× Jonathan Ross PERSON · 1× The Guardian ORG · 1× the Press Association ORG · 1×

Narrative

In his statement, Ross also addressed his controversial joke about Walliams and said: “I recognise how deeply shocking it is to revisit footage of a joke delivered by me at the Comedy Awards in 2004, in which I make light of the notion of Walliams going home with a 15-year-old.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-11
Read More “This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect. “It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point. “Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him. “I also like to think that I would have acted upon that knowledge.”
2026-11-11 · Evening Standard
Jonathan Ross breaks silence on David Walliams allegations and Russell Brand crimes · assertive framing
2026-11-11 · Evening Standard
Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

Jonathan Ross ‘horrified’ by allegations about David Walliams and Russell Brand The 65-year-old made the comments after footage resurfaced of him joking about Walliams and 15-year-olds at the British Comedy Awards in 2004. asserted
him → make → 2004
Walliams, 55, was named on Tuesday as the subject of a joint investigation by The Guardian and ITV News, after unsuccessfully attempting to obtain an injunction to prevent the publication of allegations against him. asserted
Walliams → name → him
The best-selling author and former Britain’s Got Talent judge has been accused of sexual misconduct, including grooming teenage girls as young as 15 and abusing his position to pursue women. asserted
author → sell → women
Walliams denies all allegations against him. asserted
Walliams → deny → him
Ross appears in a photograph featured in the investigation’s accompanying ITV documentary, David Walliams: Power and Silence. asserted
Ross → appear → documentary
He was pictured alongside Walliams at an event also attended by one of the women who later made allegations about Walliams’ conduct. asserted
who → picture → conduct
In a statement to the Press Association, Ross said: “I am as horrified by the revelations about David Walliams and the crimes of Russell Brand as the rest of the nation. asserted
I → say → nation
“There was a time in my life when I was on friendly terms with both men, and during that period I was genuinely unaware of their conduct. asserted
I → be → conduct
“My thoughts are with the many, many women who have bravely come forward.” asserted
who → come → women
The Jonathan Ross Show host has faced scrutiny over his past association with Brand, who was jailed on Monday for 10-and-a-half years for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others. asserted
who → face → others
Ross appeared on several television shows alongside Brand and also featured on his BBC Radio 2 show in 2008, when the pair became embroiled in a scandal involving Georgina Baillie. asserted
pair → appear → Baillie
In his statement, Ross also addressed his controversial joke about Walliams and said: “I recognise how deeply shocking it is to revisit footage of a joke delivered by me at the Comedy Awards in 2004, in which I make light of the notion of Walliams going home with a 15-year-old. asserted
Walliams → address → old
Read More “This joke was submitted to me by the Comedy Awards script writing team and I believed that the punchline was a reference to the fact he had publicly dated younger women, exaggerated for comic effect. “It is also a tasteless joke that I would not dream of making today about anyone, but that is beside the point. “Had I had any reason to suspect that it might be referring to actual events, I would not only have refused to use it, but I would not have felt comfortable continuing a personal or professional relationship with him. “I also like to think that I would have acted upon that knowledge.” uncertain
I → read → knowledge
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