Following the publication of allegations of sexual misconduct against British actor David Walliams, the BBC has removed several episodes, comedy sketches, and films featuring him, including his appearance in the Doctor Who episode “The God Complex.” Unsurprisingly, the move has left fans online seething.
“The God Complex” is part of Matt Smith’s era on the British sci-fi show. In the episode, the Eleventh Doctor, along with his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), is trapped with a group of strangers in a 1920s hotel where each room contains someone’s greatest fear. The episode features Walliams as a cowardly, mole-like alien known as Gibbis, who later betrays the group of survivors.
Other programs featuring Walliams as either an actor or creator have also been removed. These include adaptations of his children’s books, such as Gangsta Granny, and an episode of the genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are?
Why has “The God Complex” been removed?
A BBC spokesperson addressed the removal of Walliams’ filmography, saying:
“These are serious allegations. As such, the BBC is looking carefully at all material featuring and written by David Walliams on our platforms. We are in the process of removing some programmes, including Little Britain, whilst this review is underway.”
Fan reaction to the removal of “The God Complex” has largely been negative on social media like Reddit.
“For fucks sake. You can’t just obsessively remove and re-edit every goddamn episode of television just because they happen to have some problematic people in them,” one redditor shared.
Other commenters noted that the BBC hadn’t removed content featuring other Doctor Who episodes featuring people who have faced allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment, such as Noel Clarke and John Barrowman, who played Mickey Smith and Jack Harkness, respectively, in the 2005 reboot. Earlier in October, Clarke pleaded not guilty to sexual offense charges.
This isn’t the first time the BBC has removed content for review following serious allegations. In 2024, the BBC removed “Fear Her,” an episode featuring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and set during the Olympic Games, after BBC news anchor Huw Edwards was convicted of possessing indecent images of children. Edwards appeared in the episode as himself. The BBC responded by re-dubbing his voice.
It’s unclear how the BBC will handle Walliams’ involvement in “The God Complex,” but it seems unlikely the episode will remain unavailable forever. For now, one of Doctor Who’s best episodes is under lock and key, and may stay that way for a while.
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