London police said Friday they had launched a probe into alleged "serious sexual offences" after accusations about comedian and children's author David Walliams appeared in UK media reports this week.
"The Met has received a number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences involving a man now in his 50s," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The police said the "allegations are separate from those reported by ITN and The Guardian", which this week published claims by multiple women dating as far back as 2003, including that Walliams sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl.
The Met said it was also "proactively reviewing that reporting to establish whether there is any evidence of offences".
Walliams, 55, denied the Guardian and ITV News allegations, which were published Tuesday after he lost a High Court battle against being identified in the UK media.
The media reports included allegations that he groomed teenage fans and harassed young female colleagues.
They came days after former comedian and TV personality Russell Brand was jailed for more than 10 years for raping and sexually assaulting women.
Walliams rose to fame as a comedian with his controversial sketch shows "Little Britain" and "Come Fly With Me", and was a judge on commercial broadcaster ITV's "Britain's Got Talent".
He also penned children's books that have reportedly sold 50 million copies, including "Mr Stink", "Gangsta Granny" and "The Boy in the Dress".
His publisher, HarperCollins, dropped him last year after he faced accusations of harassing female staff, which he denied.
The latest allegations prompted more organisations to distance themselves from the former star.
A BBC spokesperson told AFP it has taken down some shows involving Walliams from its platforms, including all episodes of "Little Britain", which ran between 2003 and 2006.
A spokesperson for his literary agents, Independent Talent Group, told AFP that after the latest claims, "we are no longer representing him in any capacity".
When seeking to block the publication of the reports, Walliams' legal team argued he was "highly likely" to die by suicide if they were published.
The High Court heard he made two suicide attempts this year and was detained in a secure hospital last month.
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