Alesha Dixon has admitted she feels “deeply saddened” about David Walliams’ recent exit from Britain’s Got Talent.
The pair joined the BGT judging panel together in 2012, and spent a decade sitting next to one another on the long-running reality show.
However, when auditions for this year’s season got underway in January, it was revealed that David would not be returning to the show, and he’d instead been replaced by former Strictly Come Dancing star Bruno Tonioli.
Although neither David nor ITV has spoken about his exit, his departure came after recordings of him making explicit and disparaging remarks about auditionees on the set of BGT in 2020 were leaked in the press, for which he later issued an apology.
During an interview with Waitrose Weekend, Alesha 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.”
Her comments come after BGT hosts Ant and Dec revealed they were “apprehensive” about starting a new series without David.
“We love David Walliams, and we miss him,” Ant told HuffPost UK last month, with Dec insisting the pair are both “still good friends” with the former Little Britain comedian.
Ant continued: “We text a lot, we see him socially, so we were really kind of apprehensive about starting this new series.”
David’s spot on the BGT panel was first reported to be uncertain last year, when the recordings of him making explicit and disparaging remarks about auditionees were first shared in the media.
In a transcript shared with The Guardian, the comedian and children’s author allegedly branded one elderly hopeful a “c***” three times after they made a jibe about him in an unsuccessful audition.
Of another female contestant, David reportedly remarked: “She’s like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to fuck them, but you don’t.”
According to the newspaper, he then continued: “It’s the last thing on your mind, but she’s like: ‘Yep, I bet you do!’ ‘No I don’t!’ I had a bit of a boner, but now it’s going, it’s now shrivelled up inside my body.”
After the comments were made public, David issued a statement, saying: “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.”