Walliams was judging alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon when the remarks were made. Shortly after the transcript was leaked, the former Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli was announced as David Walliams’ replacement on Britain’s Got Talent in January 2023. BGT judges Simon Cowell and David Walliams outside the London Palladium in January 2020. Photograph: Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images In 2013, alongside continuing to write his novels for older children, Walliams entered new fictional territory with his first picture book, The Slightly Annoying Elephant, working with his long-term illustrator Tony Ross to write about a big blue elephant who turns up uninvited and starts being very bossy indeed.

They stressed that all contestants were assessed by the judges, based on their performance on the day, and the outcome was never predetermined. The lawyers added that Thames “holds its contestants in the highest regard”, did not “practise or condone any exploitative or unethical practices towards BGT contributors” and had a “thorough and robust” welfare support system in place for contestants. Thames TV, the production company behind Britain’s Got Talent, which is part of FremantleMedia, said the company regarded Walliams’ comments as private but that his language was “inappropriate”. Lawyers for Walliams and Thames TV said the comments were part of a private conversation never intended for broadcast. In a statement after the incident, Thames TV said: “Although relating to a private conversation almost three years ago, the language used was inappropriate. Even though it was private, those involved have been spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities and the show’s expectations as to future professional conduct.” Lyon, James (November 2000). "Deep Fighter". PC Zone. No.95. Dennis Publishing. p.78 . Retrieved July 9, 2020.Mad Carl (September 1, 2000). "Deep Fighter". PlanetDreamcast. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009 . Retrieved July 9, 2020. a b Kenyon, Garrett (August 2000). "Deep Fighter (DC)". NextGen. No.68. Imagine Media. p.90 . Retrieved July 8, 2020. Walliam’s success partly stems from an innate grasp of the comedic potential of outrageous characters we nevertheless recognise instantly – from the power-hungry councillor mother in Mr Stink to the terrorising battle-axe Aunt Alberta in Awful Auntie. One reviewer summed up the comedic secret saying ‘There are plenty of jokes (Walliams knows how to write a very funny list), a couple of comedy baddies and some truly awful school dinners. A Thames spokesperson said that even though the production company regarded Walliams’ comments as private, his language was “inappropriate” and he had been reminded of the show’s “expectations as to future professional conduct”.

a b c d MacDonald, Ryan (August 28, 2000). "Deep Fighter Review (DC)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 20, 2001 . Retrieved July 8, 2020. ITV has repeatedly faced questions in recent months about the treatment of contestants on some of its best-loved reality shows. Earlier this summer, Love Island prompted 3,617 complaints to the media regulator, Ofcom, about perceived misogynistic behaviour from some male participants. In March, another ITV programme, The Jeremy Kyle Show, was the subject of an excoriating Channel 4 documentary that detailed an allegedly toxic culture.The actor and comedian had been part of the judging lineup since 2012 but his position came into question after the Guardian saw a leaked transcript of offensive comments he had made during an audition show at the London Palladium in January 2020. Walliams’ comments were the only instances of derogatory remarks about contestants in leaked transcripts from three episodes that were reviewed by the Guardian. There is no suggestion that Simon Cowell or any other judge made offensive remarks about contestants.

Further picture books have followed, including The First Hippo on the Moon and The Bear Who Went Boo as well as a book specially written to support Comic Relief, The Queen’s Orang-utan. Pseudo supprimé (October 19, 2000). "Test: Deep Fighter (PC)". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia . Retrieved July 9, 2020. Deepfighter [sic] (DC)". Consoles + (in French). No.106. November 2000. p.134 . Retrieved July 9, 2020. The Thames spokesperson added: “Contestants are at the very heart of everything on Britain’s Got Talent. We are an inclusive show open to anyone – and we are grateful to every single act who auditions.” D'Aprile, Jason (August 23, 2000). "Deep Fighter (DC)". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000 . Retrieved September 4, 2021.Five former employees who worked for the show’s casting team told the Guardian the terms “BO” and “buzz off” were code for potentially amusing contestants who production staff believed might perform poorly and be rejected by the judges. Two of the former production staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the term was still being used in 2016. Separately, the Guardian has also seen a 2012 casting list from Britain’s Got Talent, used by staff involved in recruiting potential contestants, that labeled some of them “buzz off”, abbreviated to “BO”. The document suggests the show’s production staff selected contestants they expected would fail in the talent contest. a b Dunham, Jeremy (September 1, 2000). "Deep Fighter (DC)". IGN. Ziff Davis . Retrieved March 28, 2018. His third book, Billionaire Boy, launched a collaboration with Tony Ross who provided images for his the book and has continued to work with Walliams on his later novels, including the massively successful Awful Auntie, The Demon Dentist, Ratburger and a collection of stories cataloguing The World’s Worst Children.