Truth about Simon Cowell and David Walliams's bitter feud: They were once the best of mates, but KATIE HIND reveals the pair are no longer speaking - and friends say the X Factor mogul fears what might come out next

They were once the best of friends, whose cheeky on-screen banter helped keep Britain’s Got Talent among the best-rated shows on television for the ten series they appeared on it together.

Off screen, too, Simon Cowell and David Walliams would regularly socialise, enjoying dinners in up-market Mayfair restaurants.

But two years after former judge David Walliams left BGT, when audio of him making disparaging remarks about contestants off camera was leaked to a newspaper, The Mail can reveal how he and Cowell ‘are no longer on speaking terms at all’ as the feud between the pair became increasingly bitter.

Those who know the pair say Cowell has now gone to every possible length to distance himself from the Little Britain comedian, even telling industry friends that he was pleased to see the humiliated star leave the BGT judging panel and confirming he has cut ties with him.

Indeed, eagle-eyed fans will note that Cowell has also unfollowed Walliams on social media.

And this week Walliams managed to drag their already toxic relationship into even more bitter, childish, territory when he revealed on TV how he’s named his dog Eric – the same name as Cowell’s 11-year-old son.

Surely no coincidence – and probably designed to annoy his former friend.

But, professional differences aside, what could have happened to drive such a significant wedge between the two men who were once so close, they were described as having a ‘bromance?’

It’s true that Walliams left the show under a definite cloud, and would have embarrassed Cowell, who created Britain’s Got Talent, and sees it as his baby.

Microphones had picked up him using shocking vile and misogynistic language about contestants, describing one female as ‘like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f*** them, but you don’t.’

The comments were made while Walliams and his fellow judges, Cowell, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden were off air. However, an agreement had apparently been made that all of their comments would be recorded for potential use.

Walliams apologised, but nevertheless sued production company Fremantle for misuse of private information and breaching data laws. The company apologised and said the matter had been resolved and Walliams is thought to have walked away quietly with around £5million.

But now the matter is resolved, friends of Cowell’s have mysteriously been out briefing the media that he and Walliams are no longer on speaking terms. There is a theory that Cowell doesn’t want to be associated with his old friend as he’s nervous about what he’ll do – or what might possibly come out – next.

One friend said: ‘Simon and David fell out pretty bitterly, or at least that is the message that his [Simon’s] friends are keen to get out there.

‘It’s strange, David and Simon were so close, they adored one another. But he is incredibly keen to distance himself from David now, it makes you wonder what is going on.’

One thing’s for sure, since his departure from BGT Walliams hasn’t had a big television gig. Though on Wednesday he made a bizarre comeback – dressed as a Christmas tree to make an appearance on ITV’s all-female chat show Loose Women to promote his latest children’s book, Super Sleuth. To some it could be viewed as a fall from grace.

His face poking through a hole of the life-size, tinsel-clad prop, he discussed his podcast and promised he would be making a TV comeback with fellow comedian Matt Lucas.

He also managed to slip in a mention of Eric the border collie, delivered in his typical deadpan style

One friend baulked: ‘Imagine what Simon must have made of that!’

It was quite the contrast to 2012 when star-maker Cowell hired Walliams as a judge on BGT. He was said to have been paid six-figures for the job and he instantly became loved by all generations.

Viewers loved his jokes and the campness gave him an immediate niche which distinguishes him from his co-judges.

ITV’s golden boy Walliams’s world began to crumble in November 2022, with the leaking of those crass comments.

In a statement, he said: ‘These were private conversations and like most conversations with friends were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.’

Walliams, who catapulted to fame in the mid-noughties with Little Britain, was later ousted by Cowell.

His aggressive response to the scandal is thought to have further irritated Cowell – who hired former Strictly star pal Bruno Tonioli to replace him on the judging panel.

Friends of Cowell’s have commented: ‘Simon was furious at the way David reacted when he left the show and now sees him in a very different light – while David blames Simon for not standing by him when some recordings of him being rude and abusive about the show’s contestants were leaked by some disgruntled production staff.

‘He thinks Simon was secretly pleased about it – and to be honest, he probably was.’

In fact, BGT sources tell me that Cowell wanted Walliams off the show before his outburst, fearing, perhaps, that there would be trouble coming down the line.

Despite playing along with David’s camp flirting in the past, those familiar with the situation say he finds the comic ‘unbearable’ and feels the joke wore very thin in the end.

An insider added: ‘The gags about Simon being gay stopped being funny a long time ago – he’s happily settled down with a family, and in the end it became annoying. It was pretty insulting for his partner, Lauren [Silverman], too – who also didn’t really find it amusing in the end.

‘He just wouldn’t drop it – some of his messing around just started to feel extremely immature.’

‘Towards the end of their time working together Simon had got a bit tired of David’s over-the-top behaviour – but he knew he was popular with viewers, so kept things as they were and went along with it,’ said a source close to the pair.

‘But since then things have really gone sour between them, they don’t even talk any more and all that banter has turned to quite a lot of bitterness. They used to socialise together, but they wouldn’t dream of it now.’

Friends of Cowell say that, while he was once fond of Walliams, he’s now come to take a fresh view of him – telling pals he is ‘nothing like his TV act’ behind the scenes and ‘only out for himself,’ adding: ‘He thinks he’s totally fake and pretty unpleasant.’

Another show source said that Walliams was also ‘pretty jealous’ of Cowell, citing his larger wealth, bigger success and the fact he is far more influential in the showbusiness world.

‘David is ruthlessly ambitious, said the friend, ‘so his natural instinct is to try to ridicule someone who is actually further up the pecking order than he is.

‘He’s obviously used to being the most important person in a room, but with Simon he wasn’t able to feel that.’

And when asked in more recent interviews about his time on the show and his former boss, the comic has been tellingly churlish – insisting he no longer watches the popular series, and quipping that Cowell has been the inspiration for ‘evil’ characters in his successful books.

What’s clear to those in the know, is that there is very little chance of a showbiz reunion for this once successful pairing.

As one concludes: ‘They’ll certainly never work together again – but it’s quite possible they’ll never even speak and Cowell is happy for everyone to know that.’