Alesha Dixon has reflected on scandal-hit David Walliams' departure from Britain's Got Talent for the first time.
David, 51, quit his role as a judge on the ITV talent show in November last year following days of controversy after it emerged he made several derogatory comments over a contestant.
A leaked transcript from the ITV show saw that David made crude references about one woman and called a pensioner a 'c***' during filming for Britain's Got Talent back in 2020.
The former Little Britain star apologised for his "disrespectful comments" but announced he would not be returning to sit alongside Alesha, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
Breathe Slow singer Alesha, 44, has shared her views on his departure from the panel.
Speaking to Waitrose, she said: "I haven't spoken about it, but of course, I'm deeply saddened because David is a great friend.
"I love him very much, we started the show together, and I'll miss him dearly."
The pair joined the programme in 2012 after Alesha left her role on the Strictly Come Dancing panel in order to sit alongside Walliams who replaced David Hasselhoff.
In recordings which were leaked last year heard David and an unknown person share several disrespectful comments which were said during filming for the talent show at the London Palladium in 2020.
During one intimate conversation, David described a contestant as a "c**t", before claiming another contestant would think the judge wanted to "f**k her".
The Guardian obtained several transcripts of conversations between Walliams and the unknown person, including one calling a male contestant a "c**t" on three occasions after the pensioner appeared to make a lighthearted jibe at Walliams.
Another comment came after a female auditionee walked off the famous stage, with David was heard to be saying: "She's like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f**k them, but you don't.
"She thinks you want to f**k her, but you don't."
Following the comments being revealed, Amanda Holden came under fire as she publicly stood alongside her pal.
When asked if she was "Team David" during an appearance on Good Morning Britain, she responded: "Of course, I'm team David."
However, Simon refused to address the matter but insisted that the then-panel were not important to the show, adding that the panel could be switched up.
"Can we not go there? If you don't mind," he responded when he was asked about Walliams directly.
