I raised my kid on David Walliams - I've made a huge mistake

The best thing a teacher ever told my about my son was when he was in Grade 2, and she said he had “a sophisticated sense of humour.”

As a woman who thinks of herself as pretty hilarious, it was a proud mum moment for me. And for once, I'm not joking.

I've always been pretty chill about humour; it's one of the joys of life. When my kid was in his adolescence, we watched things lots of probably inappropriate things such as Zoolander.

Get him to the Greek, with Russell Brand, (facepalm), was one of our faves (because we love Jonah Hill.)

Another fave was the cult show, Little Britain.

(Let's take a moment for you to judge my parenting. Sorry but after a few years, I couldn't take Big Red Car on repeat anymore. )

Little Britain, starring the now-cancelled David Walliams, who's been hit charges of sexual misconduct, was hugely successful, wildly inappropriate, and at the time, very funny. 

It was also highly controversial because of its depiction of blackface, disabilities, and fat-shaming.

But as a parent, I thought it was also a good opportunity to teach my son about different kinds of humour, kindness, tolerance. 

And yes, we also laughed. I mean, Vicky Pollard as a character in the show, still makes me chuckle.

We loved Walliams, for his imaginative characters. And so, I bought all his kids books, which of course were nothing like Little Britain. We even went to see Billionaire Boy, of his books made into a a play, at the Opera House.

The Opera House, you guys. Such were the lofty heights Walliams and his reputation once reached.

David Walliams.

Now, he's being accused of using his books to groom children into contacting him on social media.

Walliams has also spent months of this year desperately trying to keep his name suppressed, because he might take his own life if he was found out.

I have no doubt that's a genuine risk when the career you've built for decades will be shattered. But it makes the situation even uglier, more deceitful.

No one is ever the person we think we know. And that's true especially for male ‘comedians’ who were beloved, such as Brand, Bill Cosby, and the outright monster, Jimmy Saville - just to name a few.  

I've caught myself looking at Walliams' books on our shelves at home this week. Sitting there next to the delightful, wholesome Anh Do's kids series. You can see that in the head image of this story.

It occurs to me: if someone was capable of creating the content of Little Britain, wasn't that a sign of their character? A red flag? 

Shouldn't I have seen that coming when I was encouraging my son into the worlds this man created in the name of comedy?

Or is this part of life: the downfall of heroes? I'm glad my son is now a young adult and knows the glow can wear off when different versions of a person emerge.

Having said that, if I had my time again, perhaps I should have stuck to Mork and Mindy. You can't go wrong with the OG male comedian, Robin Williams.