Jeremy Edwards recalled being sexually humiliated after David Walliams pulled his pants down and exposed his penis during a charity broadcast in 2006, according to the Irish Mirror.
The actor joined a live Comic Relief special of Little Britain at London’s Hammersmith Apollo as a last-minute replacement, performing alongside Walliams and comedian David Baddiel.
During the performance, Walliams played the character Des Kay and lunged at Edwards, pulling down his jeans and underwear in front of 3,500 people.
“It simply was abuse. I did not agree to it. You just can’t do that to people,” Edwards told the Daily Mail.
Edwards describes how the sketch misled him
Edwards claimed he was only told his trousers would be pulled down and was misled about the full extent of the sketch.
“Having your trousers pulled down and you’re stood there in your boxer shorts is one thing. Having your penis exposed is something very different,” Edwards said.
The sketch later appeared on the Comic Relief Does Little Britain Live DVD released in 2007, which remains available online.
“If I had known I was going to have my genitals exposed in front of all those people then put on a DVD which has sold millions of copies and then for it for now to be on the internet for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t have done it for a million years,” Edwards added.
Past Explanations
Walliams previously addressed the incident in 2011 after speaking to The Sun.
“I played it with Holby City actor Jeremy Edwards and pulled down his trousers. His pants came down at the same time, which was a mistake,” Walliams said.
“It’s a very easy mistake to make. But I did expose him to thousands of people at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. I did feel bad about it afterwards. But not that bad,” Walliams said.
Edwards rejected the explanation, stating that he was duped and that the footage haunted him for years.
Police Investigation
Walliams was named in a sexual misconduct investigation published by The Guardian and ITV News.
Multiple women accused him of grooming them during their teenage years, while another described an encounter when she was 15 as sexual assault, according to reports.
Walliams denies any wrongdoing.
On Friday, the Metropolitan Police said it had received a number of non-recent serious sex offence allegations against Walliams in recent days.
The Press Association has contacted Comic Relief for comment.
Questions about the 2006 Comic Relief sketch
When did the incident take place?
The sketch was performed at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in November 2006 during a live Comic Relief special.
What character was David Walliams playing?
Walliams performed as the character Des Kay, described as a predatory former children’s entertainer and TV presenter.
How did Walliams respond to the incident previously?
In 2011, Walliams told The Sun that pulling down Edwards’ pants along with his underwear was a mistake.
What recent allegations involve Walliams?
The Metropolitan Police announced on Friday that they received non-recent serious sex offence allegations against Walliams following an investigation by The Guardian and ITV News.
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