David Walliams has revealed that he was locked up in a jail in Italy where he received "really fierce" treatment.
The comedian and author appeared on ITV’s Lorraine on May 22 to promote his new book Astro Chimp when he spoke out about his recent drama.
“I went to Venice and I got there and realised I had taken my old passport, which was out of date and they were really fierce and shouting at me,” he said. “They locked me up in a cell for seven hours.”
However, despite the difficult and scary experience, the 52-year-old claimed he took the opportunity to write some of the book.
" I still had my hand luggage on me and I thought 'okay, and got out my computer and I just wrote for seven hours and when they said it's time to go, I was a bit disappointed because I hadn't quite finished."
Elsewhere in the chat, Walliams, who was a judge on the series alongside Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon for ten years before he resigned in 2022, dodged a question about his Britain's Got Talent exit.
Lorraine asked: "Britain's Got Talent is on, how are you feeling about that? Do you watch, do you not watch? Are you a bit sorry about how it all finished? What’s the thing?”
Walliams replied: "Well I have been travelling a lot so I have not had a chance to see it. I’m really enjoying spending all the time being creative because although we’ve got the books, there is also like, working on an animation series of Gangsta Granny, there’s an animated film of Slime… there is so much going on.
"Being creative is what I really really love. So that’s what, so actually getting back to that. Getting back working with Matt (Little Britain co-star Matt Lucas) has been a joy."
But Lorraine wasn't about to let it go, and seized the opportunity to bring up BGT again when Walliams told her he was getting a new puppy, who he and his son Alfred, 11, have named Eric – which is the name of Cowell's son.
Walliams, who explained he already has another dog said: "We have a Bert and an Ernie and then it's Eric and Ernie."
"It's a tribute to Simon Cowell in a way," Kelly jumped in. "Because that's his son! Is his son not called Eric?" she laughed. But a seemingly unamused Walliams insisted: "Well, he is named after Eric Morecambe."
Viewers took to X to share their thoughts on the moment. "David Walliams trying to be diplomatic about #BGT," posted one. Someone else added: "David Walliams would make an excellent politician." While a third said: "Of all the names he could've named his dog, why Eric? That's a strange coincidence."
In November 2022, The Guardian said it had seen a leaked transcript in which the star, who had been a judge on BGT from 2012, made derogatory and sexually explicit remarks about contestants on the 2020 series.
Walliams apologised, saying in a statement to the publication: “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.”
Last November he reached a settlement with the show's production company Fremantle after it was reported he was suing the company for misuse of private information and breaching data laws.
