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journalism → support → readers
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we → purchase → commission
Known for its exaggerated parodies of the British public, it was popular at the time but has since been criticised for its offensive tropes and problematic depictions of racial and minority groups.
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it → know → groups
The show was pulled from a slew of streaming services due to its use of blackface in 2020 - and was later added back to BBC iPlayer in 2022, with some of the controversial characters edited out.
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some → pull → characters
Despite working closely for decades, Lucas and Walliams’ friendship became strained during the Little Britain Live tour in 2005 and their tour of Australia in 2007.
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friendship → work → 2007
Earlier this week, Walliams, 55, was accused of sexual misconduct, including allegations of preying on teenage girls as young as 15.
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Walliams → accuse → 15
He has denied all the allegations of wrongdoing.
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He → deny → wrongdoing
Amid the controversy, the Standard take a look at what went wrong between him and Lucas.
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what → take → him
The pair clashed backstage and were often at “loggerheads” over minor things, such as what kind of chocolate to request or arguments over Walliams’ facial hair, according to Lucas’ autobiography Little Me.
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pair → clash → autobiography
These disagreements occasionally escalated into screaming matches and shouting obscenities at each other, Lucas said.
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Lucas → escalate → other
After their second sketch show together, Come Fly With Me, the duo officially ended their professional partnership in 2011 and drifted apart for several years.
Lucas, 52, took swipes at Walliams in his autobiography, which was released in 2012, and Walliams did the same in his memoir, Camp David.
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Walliams → come → memoir
Lucas wrote: “Walliams has now sold so many children's books he can probably buy his own private jet, all decked out in pink, with a river inside it for him to swim up,” alluding to Walliams' multiple high-profile charity swims.
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him → write → swims
Walliams, meanwhile, said they were “very different people and probably want different things”, adding that their relationship was “over for the time being”.
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relationship → say → time
The former best friends came to a truce in 2018 when their mutual friend Dale Winton died, with the pair though to have reconnected at his funeral.
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pair → come → funeral
They publicly reunited at a fancy dress party in 2019 and, later that year, appeared in the Little Britain spin-off, Little Brexit.
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They → reunite → off
“Often it'll be pictures or videos we've found online, that sort of thing, and we just make each other laugh all the time.”
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other → find → thing
He added that they had plans to resurrect Little Britain “as soon as we can”.
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we → add → Britain
Last year, they launched the twice-weekly podcast Making A Scene, in which they interview their comedian friends and turn their lives into cinematic events.
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they → launch → events
One woman described her alleged encounter with Walliams, when she was 15, as a “sexual assault” while multiple women accused him of “grooming” them when they were teenagers.
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they → describe → them
The best-selling author and former Britain’s Got Talent judge said: “Looking back, I realise that at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with.
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I → sell → relationships
“I realise I did not always take people’s feelings properly into account.
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I → realise → account
That is something I regret.
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I → regret → ?
And whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did.”
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I → abuse → that
He added: “I am not a sexual predator.
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I → add → ?
I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
One woman, named by ITV News and the Guardian as Jade, said she was 15 and Walliams was 36 when they met in August 2007 and he invited her to his house.
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he → break → house
She claimed what happened to her there was “sexual assault” and “grooming”, adding: “It’s completely wrong in every way.”
Walliams strongly denied to the publications that he had any sexual contact with Jade, adding that he rejects any allegations of criminal activity and he has never engaged in the grooming of young women.
Another woman, named by the news organisations as Alex, alleged she was having sex with Walliams by the time she was 17.
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she → claim → time
Asked how she feels about him now, she said: “I think I was groomed.
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I → ask → him
Walliams told the publications he believed she was 18 at the time they had sex.
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they → tell → sex
His lawyers said the suggestion he groomed Alex is false and has caused him significant distress.
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he → say → distress
Another young woman, Lilly Creightmore, said she met Walliams when she was 18 at a live filming of Little Britain.
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she → say → Britain
She said she had a troubled home life so stayed with him in his flat, where she slept on the sofa.
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she → say → sofa
She claimed he asked her to stay in his bed every night.
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he → claim → bed
She told the news organisations: “He would plead with me to share a bed with him and paw at me, trying to make me feel sorry for him.
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me → tell → him
“He definitely crossed the line physically in moments, when I was young, trying to coerce me into sleeping with him.”
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I → cross → him
Lawyers for Walliams said he saw her as a close friend and is mortified that she feels he was grooming her, which he denies.
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he → say → which
He also denies targeting her because she was young and vulnerable and insists he did not say or do anything inappropriate.
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he → deny → anything
The Aporia
