BBC apologises after David Walliams makes ‘completely unacceptable' Nazi salutes
The BBC has apologised after comedian David Walliams gave two Nazi salutes in front of a live audience.
The incident took place during a taping of the Christmas special for panel show Would I Lie To You, with The Times claiming the Little Britain star, 53, made the grossly offensive gesture not once but twice.
The salutes occurred while Walliams's teammate – Call the Midwife actress Helen George – who was recalling the time she sprained her wrist during the Strictly Come Dancing tour in 2015 'from waving too much'.
As she tried to convince David Mitchell's team that the anecdote was true, she started re-enacting the waving, which is when Walliams joined in with his own exaggerated flailing, resulting in the Nazi salute.
After being reprimanded by the host, Rob Brydon, the filming moved on but as lewd jokes were swapped, Walliams then repeated the action but this time with a 'sexual twist'.
Per The Times, one audience member said: 'It was all very weird. There were gasps from the audience, and the other panellists all looked very uncomfortable.'
Another X user, @mirrandaYC added: 'Didn't have david walliams doing a Nazi salute at the Would I Lie To You Christmas taping on my 2025 bingo card.'
Sources at the BBC and the show's production company, Zeppotron told the publication that there was no chance of the footage being broadcast.
Facebook user Alan Robert Booth called him an 'entitled idiot'.
A BBC spokesperson apologised to those present, saying: 'The use of such an offensive gesture is completely unacceptable and we apologise to all at the recording for the offence caused.'
This has been echoed by Banijay UK (Zeppotron's owner) who added: 'Any attempt at humour regarding this deeply offensive gesture, whether broadcast or not, is completely unacceptable in any context.
'It was immediately acknowledged during the recording that this segment would not be broadcast under any circumstances and we apologise to those who were at the recording for any offence caused.'
It is the latest incident in a career filled with controversy.
The former Britain's Got Talent judge was removed from his role in 2022 after leaked recordings showed him making offensive remarks about the contestants.
Meanwhile, his tenure on the comedy series co-created with Matt Lucas, Little Britain, has faced mounting criticism for its depiction of certain characters branded 'explicitly racist' such as the use of blackface.
Nevertheless, despite the show's controversial sketches, it has found a new audience on TikTok with clips regularly going viral among the Gen Z audience for its dark humour.
In 2023, after rumours of a reboot, Lucas shut down the idea saying that it was simply 'not true'.
The co-creators do have a podcast together, Making A Scene, where they 'turn their famous friends' lives into cinematic masterpieces.'
In 2024, the children's author called cancel culture 'exhausting'.
'[The issue] is complicated, but you just look at each joke as it comes really.
'Obviously if you were worried about every single thing you said or did might offend someone, that you wouldn't be able to say or do anything on stage. More Trending
'I kind of think people haven't lost a sense of humour in the way that it's often portrayed,' he told The Daily Telegraph at the time.
He is not the first high-profile figure to be embroiled in a Nazi salute controversy this year.
Elon Musk faced backlash after making a movement that resembled the salute in January. However, he firmly denied that the gesture he made was the one historically linked to German fascism.
View More »
Metro has reached out to David Walliams' representative and the BBC for comment.
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