Amanda Holden has said she wants fellow Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams to remain on the judging panel amid claims he may lose the high-profile job.
Holden said she is firmly “team David” after the comedian was forced to apologise following a leaked recording that caught him calling an elderly performer on the talent show the C-word three times.
According to a transcript leaked to the Guardian, the best-selling children’s author also said of a female hopeful: “She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them but you don’t.”
When asked if the author/comedian should return to the next series, Holden told Good Morning Britain at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards: “I would like to see the judging panel look like it did before.
“I think we’re a great team, we’re a family,” said Holden, whose other panellists are show boss Simon Cowell and Alesha Dixon.
Asked directly if she was “Team David”, she replied, “Of course I’m team David!”
Walliam’s slurs were picked up by a microphone used to record chats between him and fellow judges Holden, Cowell, and Dixon at the London Palladium in January 2020.
When Cowell was asked by the Daily Star about Walliams’ behaviour, he said: “Can we not go there? If you don’t mind.”
And when asked if the Little Britain star will be back on BG in 2023, he said a decision is yet to be made.
He added: “Ask me in a few weeks.”
Show bosses have confirmed that Walliams has been reprimanded for his derogatory comments.
Walliams, who joined BGT in 2012, has said in a statement: “I would like to apologise to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.
“These were private conversations and, like most conversations with friends, were never intended to be shared.
“Nevertheless, I am sorry.”
Show bosses have confirmed that Walliams has been reprimanded for his derogatory comments and a spokesperson for BGT said at the time of press that no final decision had been made around the 2023 judging line-up.
“The judging panel for Britain’s Got Talent 2023 will be announced in due course,” said a spokesperson.
“It’s still very much up in the air at the moment on whether David is going to take part in next year’s show.
“No decision, though, has been made as yet.”
