TV networks, streamers and film distributors have wasted no time in moving to erase David Walliams from screens since grooming allegations against the Little Britain star were made public.

Within a day of the 55-year-old actor, comedian and children’s book author losing his legal bid for ongoing anonymity over claims of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls – which he denies – UK broadcaster Channel 4 had deleted shows featuring him from its streaming service.

“Following the serious allegations against David Walliams, we have decided to remove programs in which he is featured from our platforms,” a spokesperson told entertainment website Deadline.

“We will keep the matter under review.”

At the same time, the BBC removed some of Walliams’ shows and TV episodes from its on-demand service – including hit comedy Little Britain.

The allegations against Walliams have also created challenges for the producers of upcoming UK/Australian children’s movie Fing!, which is based on one of his books.

Walliams’ cameo in the film has now been edited out and he will have no involvement in promoting the film when it is released here in mid-January, according to its Australian distributor, Transmission Films.

Streamer Stan no longer plans to show Fing! – which also stars Mia Wasikowska and Taika Waititi – while UK distributor Sky has also dropped it.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest streaming service is refusing to take down a Russell Brand 2018 stand-up special in which the disgraced comedian – who was last week jailed for more than 10 years for rape and sexual assault – boasts about his sex life.

During the show, he recalls tales from the birth of his first child and jokes how he was amazed that it took him so long to get a woman pregnant.

Netflix said Russell Brand: Re: Birth would remain on the streamer despite his conviction, but would no longer be recommended or actively promoted to subscribers.

“We prioritise choice and control for our members: The freedom to watch what, how and when you want, with recommendations and ratings to inform those choices,” a Netflix source said.

A day after that statement, the streamer announced it was premiering a new documentary titled Open Secret, about Brand’s “rise to stardom and subsequent fall after allegations of sexual misconduct”, from November 13.

Jill Greenfield, chair of the Fawcett Society – a group that campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights – described Netflix’s decision to keep Re: Birth on its platform as “a bit surprising”.

“I don’t know who would want to watch that,” she said. “They’re a broadcaster, they need to think about the audience, especially when there are further investigations going on.

“It’s upsetting for tonnes of people, particularly the victims. With a criminal conviction, it’s a wonder why you’d keep it up.”

Brand, of course, isn’t the only celebrity convicted of sex offences whose past work is still available to audiences.

American actor and comedian Bill Cosby’s career was over well before he was convicted of sexual assault, but his sitcom The Cosby Show can still be streamed on platforms such as Apple TV and Prime Video.

And songs by the late convicted sexual predator Rolf Harris are available on Spotify, although it’s difficult to imagine who would be listening to them.

A house of cards

Some problematic stars called to account since the #metoo movement emerged have managed to make a comeback, but there often seems to be inconsistency in how they are treated by the entertainment industry.

Netflix was quick to act back in 2017 when sexual misconduct allegations first arose against Kevin Spacey.

After multiple staff working on the streaming service’s hit political drama House of Cards accused the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor of “predatory behaviour” on set, the streaming platform cuts ties with him and killed off his character (Frank Underwood) before the final season of the series.

Netflix also cancelled a biopic of American writer and intellectual Gore Vidal, Gore, which Spacey was to have starred in.

The American Beauty star’s career remained largely on ice as he faced numerous further accusations of sexual misconduct in the US and UK – which he consistently denied – but he has been attempting to make a comeback since he was acquitted in 2023 by a London court on nine historic charges.

As well as European and independent film projects, Spacey returned to TV screens in an Italian comedy series called Minimart and starts in the upcoming UK thriller The Awakening.

“I feel much more welcomed, and I think that things are moving in the direction that we hoped they were moving in,” he told Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast of his career revival in June.

The Awakening director Matt Routledge said on another podcast that Spacey was “great to work with, very professional” and “at the top of his game”.

The ghost of movies past

Johnny Depp is another actor who is making a return to the big screen following lengthy lawsuits triggered after an article in UK tabloid The Sun accused him of being a “wife beater”.

While the Pirates of the Caribbean star lost his original lawsuit against the tabloid, he won a subsequent case against ex-wife and actor Amber Heard after arguing she defamed him by calling herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece.

The 63-year-old’s reputation was badly damaged by the cases and he lost work in Hollywood, but returns to the screen as the titular character in Ebenezer, a dark fantasy adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

“The welcome that I’ve received – there’s no explanation,” Depp said at Ebenezer’s British premiere in London last week.

“There’s no way for me to explain how I feel. It’s deep. These are the people who have supported me through thick and thin.”

In an article this month, CNN noted that the backlash against many male celebrities accused of abuse or violence against women in recent years had been temporary.

It quoted US law professor Mary Anne Franks, who wrote about the Depp-Heard case in her book Fearless Speech, as saying the coverage of Depp’s trial may even have contributed to his image as countercultural icon.

“Not only has he not suffered meaningful consequences, he’s been lauded, and he became a hero to certain people,” Franks said.

Beyond redemption – or not

The conflicting evidence and outcomes that emerged from Depp’s legal battles, and the fact his ex-wife was the only accuser, may explain why he has been able to return from the Hollywood wilderness.

Comedian Louis CK managed an even smoother comeback.

When he was accused of sexual misconduct by five women in 2017 – and admitted their stories were true – Netflix canned a planned special but his previous shows remained available.

Louis CK was cancelled – then un-cancelled. Photo: Getty

CK issued a statement apologising for his conduct, then later resumed stand-up tours. He won a Grammy in 2022 for his comeback special Sincerely Louis CK, and returned to Netflix this year in a new special titled Ridiculous.

As a Vanity Fair writer who witnessed 17,000 fans laughing through CK’s set at the Netflix is a Joke Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in May wrote, “in America, cultural banishment – particularly for those who can sell out major arenas – rarely lasts long”.

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