Alton Towers closes World of David Walliams with ‘immediate effect’ despite spending millions on attraction

The theme park’s creative team worked closely with the children’s author, as well as publisher HarperCollins Children’s Books for years as part of its development.

Now, some of the rides bidding farewell to the Staffordshire park include Gangsta Granny: The Ride, a 360° special effects attraction.

Rides like Raj’s Bouncy Bottom Burp, the Royal Carousel and Flavio’s Fabulous Fandango will also be ditched following the wider review.

As Alton Towers decided to scrap the area, visitors have been urged to check the park’s website for the latest attraction opening information.

The latest closure is a part of a regular assessment of its array of attractions, the park said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from Merlin Entertainments said: “As the 2026 peak season at Alton Towers Resort comes to an end and following our regular review of rides and attractions across the resort, we have taken the decision to permanently close the World of David Walliams.”

Mr Walliams climbed to fame in the early 2000s for his work in Little Britain, starring alongside Matt Lucas.

He later turned to writing children’s books, publishing his first book The Boy in the Dress in 2008 and going on to pen bestsellers such as Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy.

Since then, the 55-year-old more than 60 million copies worldwide in 55 languages – until the publisher dropped Mr Walliams in December 2025 over historic allegations of “inappropriate behaviour towards women”.

The celebrity has strongly denied the allegations.

A female employee who raised concerns about Mr Walliams’ conduct later left HarperCollins after reaching a settlement which included a five-figure payment, The Telegraph previously revealed.

The publisher reportedly launched an internal inquiry in 2023 after a complaint was made, interviewing multiple staff members who had professional contact with the author.

The inquiry concluded in 2024, after which HarperCollins implemented measures to limit certain employees’ contact with the writer.

At first, HarperCollins continued to publish previous books but has also now dropped the full catalogue.

Former employees also claimed precautionary protocols were introduced when dealing with the Little Britain star.

Staff were reportedly instructed to attend meetings with Mr Walliams in pairs rather than alone.

Employees were also advised not to travel unaccompanied to the author’s home.

At the time of the probe, HarperCollins did not publicly confirm the reason behind its decision to sever ties with Mr Walliams.