London police on Friday said they are opening an sexual offenses investigation into British actor, comedian and children's author David Walliams.
The Metropolitan Police said they "received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offenses involving a man now in his 50s."
It comes after British outlets ITV News and The Guardian paper reported that Walliams misused his power and celebrity status to prey on women and girls over a period of more than 20 years. The media outlets produced an hourlong video documentary on the allegations against Walliams, entitled "David Walliams: Power and Silence."
The documentary reported on a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Walliams when she was 15. The outlets also highlighted sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct allegations regarding "Britain's Got Talent," where he was a judge, and his book publisher HarperCollins.
"We would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offense to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened," said Detective Mike Cagney, who is in charge of the Met Police investigation.
The Met Police investigation is based on allegations against Walliams that are separate from those reported by the two news outlets.
Neither Walliams nor his lawyer have responded to the Met Police investigation.