Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams made derogatory and sexually explicit comments about contestants during the taping of an episode of the ITV show, according to a leaked transcript seen by the Guardian.
Walliams, one of Britain’s best-known TV personalities and children’s book authors, was recorded referring to one contestant as a “coconut” and saying of another: “She thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t you do”.
The offensive comments were made during an audition show recorded at the London Palladium in January 2020. Lawyers for Walliams and Thames TV, the producer of Britain’s Got Talent, argued that the comments were part of a private conversation that was never intended for its emission.
One of the incidents captured on the transcript involved an older performer engaging in some light-hearted banter with the judges in which he made a joke about Walliams.
BGT judges Simon Cowell and David Walliams outside the London Palladium in January 2020. Picture: Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images
After an unsuccessful audition, the pensioner left the stage. When he was out of reach, the transcript suggests, Walliams described him three times as “a cunt”.
Their comments were picked up by microphones used to pick up discussions between the judges as they sat at their desks in the center of the auditorium. The recordings are understood to have been made for possible broadcast on Britain’s Got Talent or other spin-off shows, often featuring candid comments made by the judges between auditions.
The other incident occurred shortly after a female contestant auditioning for the same show had left the stage. After her performance, Walliams commented: “She’s like that slightly bored girl you meet in the pub who thinks you want to fuck them, but you don’t.”
Walliams reiterated: “She thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t.”
He then added, “I know, she’s like, ‘Oh shit!’ I was saying, she thinks you want to fuck her, but you don’t. It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like, “Yeah, I bet you are!” ‘No, no!’ I had a little joy, but now it’s gone, now it’s crumbled inside my body.”
In a statement, Walliams said: “I would like to apologize to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks during filming of Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and, like most conversations with friends, they never wanted to share. . I’m sorry though.”
A Thames spokesman said that while Walliams’ comments were considered private by the production company, his language was “inappropriate” and he had been reminded of the show’s “expectations of future professional conduct”.
Walliams’ comments were the only instances of derogatory comments about contestants in leaked transcripts of three episodes which were reviewed by the Guardian. There is no suggestion that Simon Cowell or any of the other judges made offensive comments about the contestants.
A spokesman for Cowell and Syco Entertainment, the co-producer of Britain’s Got Talent, said: “We were not aware of the alleged conversation until contacted by the Guardian and, while it is not suggested that Simon overheard the alleged remarks, we can confirm yes. no. Britain’s Got Talent is a family show and we do not condone the use of such language.”
Walliams’ comments about the contestants are likely to raise questions about their conduct on the hit show and contribute to the ongoing debate about the ethics of reality TV and its treatment of audience members.
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An ITV spokesman said the duty of care to participants in its programs was “of the utmost importance”. “We do not understand the language described in these allegations and have spoken to the producers of Britain’s Got Talent.”
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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 lodged 3,617 complaints with media regulator Ofcom about perceived misogynistic behavior by some male contestants. In March, another ITV show, The Jeremy Kyle Show, was the subject of a damning Channel 4 documentary detailing an allegedly toxic culture.
ITV rejected the documentary’s central allegation of a “bad culture” within The Jeremy Kyle Show production team, and in a statement ahead of this year’s Love Island series, the channel released details of its extended duty of care protocols for contestants. Scrutiny of the two ITV shows was part of the 2019 parliamentary inquiry into reality TV.
Separately, The Guardian has also seen a 2012 Britain’s Got Talent casting list, used by staff involved in recruiting potential contestants, which labeled some of them ‘buzz off’, abbreviated as ‘BO’. The document suggests that the show’s production staff selected contestants they hoped would fail the talent show.
“He thinks he can make it to the finals!” Apparently, a staff member of the casting team wrote about a “buzz off” contestant. “He’s just going through it because it’s so unpleasant.” A note next to another contestant read: “Not sure she’s bad enough.”
Five former employees who worked for the show’s casting team told the Guardian that the terms “BO” and “buzz off” were code for potentially funny contestants who production staff believed might perform poorly and be rejected by the judges. Two of the former production employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the term was still being used in 2016.
Lawyers for Thames did not respond to questions about whether the term was still in use. They acknowledged that BGT production staff might sometimes suspect a contestant would be “a buzz off”, but said they didn’t put them through with the expectation of being humiliated. They added that production staff were regularly proven wrong in their assessment of how well an act would perform.
They emphasized that all contestants were evaluated by the judges, based on their performance on the day, and the result was never predetermined. The lawyers added that Thames “holds its contestants in the highest regard”, did not “practice or condone any exploitative or unethical practices towards BGT contributors” and had a “comprehensive social support system and robust” for the contestants.
The Thames spokesperson added: “Contestants are at the heart of everything on Britain’s Got Talent. We’re an inclusive show open to everyone and we’re grateful to all the acts who audition.”
Lawyers for Cowell and Syco said they were unaware that casting staff were identifying “buzz off” contestants. A spokesman for Cowell and Syco added: “The amazing, talented and varied contestants who audition are at the heart of Britain’s Got Talent and we have the utmost respect and gratitude for everyone involved, and are incredibly proud of the success of the many Got Talent contestants”.
There is no suggestion that any of the other judges were aware of or engaged in the practice of identifying potential performers as “off” contestants.