Police have launched a criminal investigation into 'a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences' against David Walliams.
The entertainer is being investigated over accusations that he used his fame to groom schoolgirls and pursue young women.
Walliams, 55, has been accused of sexually assaulting one 15-year-old girl, targeting another who was doing her GCSE mocks, and sexually harassing a string of other young women.
The comedian, who denies wrongdoing, attempted to prevent the allegations emerging in a High Court battle with the media, threatening to kill himself if the women's claims were made public.
He sought an injunction but his application was refused by a judge who allowed The Guardian newspaper and ITV News to publish an investigation on Tuesday detailing the torrid claims.
Since then, several women have come forward to accuse Walliams of criminal offences, which has prompted Scotland Yard to launch a formal criminal investigation.
The force said in a statement this afternoon: 'In recent days, the Met has received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s.
'Those who have come forward are being supported by specialist officers.
David Walliams was accused of sexual misconduct and abusing his power to groom teenagers
Walliams is pictured at the 2004 Comedy Awards where Little Britain won the top prize
'The allegations are separate from those reported by ITN and The Guardian. However, as part of their investigation, detectives are also proactively reviewing that reporting to establish whether there is any evidence of offences.'
It is understood the force had not received any reports prior to these allegations.
Detective Superintendent Mike Cagney, whose team is leading the investigation, added: 'We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened.
'We know reporting allegations of this nature can be daunting, but specialist officers are on hand to provide support, answer questions and guide you through the process.'
The millionaire star of TV shows such as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, and a successful children's author once feted as the 'new Roald Dahl', has denied preying on young women.
He has acknowledged behaving 'thoughtlessly' at times but declared: 'I am not a sexual predator.'
A woman referred to as Jade said she was 15 in 2007 when the former Britain's Got Talent (BGT) judge molested her.
He had contacted her on the messaging site MySpace – a precursor to Facebook – asking for her number, and they chatted on the phone about 'where I lived, what I do in school'.
They arranged to meet in Soho where Walliams, then 36, bought her coffee before taking her down an alleyway and kissing her, she alleged.
He then drove her in his Aston Martin to his house – Supernova Heights, the Primrose Hill mansion once owned by Oasis star Noel Gallagher – where she claims that he 'lifted my top up and sucked on my breast and then tried to put my hand down his trousers'.
She said: 'That's when I pulled away and said no. I was only 15. It's a sexual assault. It's grooming. It's completely wrong in every way.'
Lawyers for Walliams have said he had never engaged in grooming young women and denied any sexual contact with Jade.
They have previously said the allegations were false.
Another woman, identified only as Alex, alleged Walliams groomed her at 15 when she was studying for her mock GCSEs and met him at a Little Britain fan event.
David Walliams arrives for Britain's Got Talent auditions in London in January 2022
Her mother snapped a photo of the moment Alex handed him comedy sketches she had written, and a few days later he phoned her, saying: 'Hi, it's David Walliams. You know, off the telly.'
They talked about her school, exams and when she was turning 16, it was claimed.
Walliams helped with her writing and offered to get her work experience in TV.
When she was 17, in 2005, they had consensual sex, she said, but added: 'It felt very... pushy. I felt like a prostitute, essentially. I think I was groomed, 100 per cent.'
Walliams' lawyers said he believed Alex was 18 when they had sex and was 'mortified to learn' that their 'brief, consensual relationship has caused her sadness'.
Abby Tomlinson, now a senior aide to Andy Burnham in Downing Street, is among those who spoke out.
The PM's deputy digital comms chief was a 17-year-old BGT fan in 2015 when she says she found herself in Walliams' dressing room with girls aged 13, 16 and 17, without any other adult present.
She told The Guardian: 'The door was shut and we were alone with him.'
Walliams' lawyers said this claim was misleading.
Sarah, another BGT fan, said she was invited to Walliams' house when she was 18 and claimed he got her drunk and stroked her leg before trying to lead her to bed.
Lilly Creightmore, a former model, was 18 in 2003 when he 'constantly pestered' her for sex, she alleged.
On October 22, Walliams was sectioned under the Mental Health Act for his own safety, the High Court was told.
He remains in a psychiatric hospital.