Walliams under fire over festive card

The 37-year-old comedian sent out cards featuing a full-frontal shot of the homoerotic bodybuilders he and co-star Matt Lucas created for Little Britain USA.

But because one of the recipients was 78-year-old Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, the victim of the crude phone calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, the story has been taken up by The Mail on Sunday, which described the cards 'coarse' and 'crude'.

The message inside them reads: ‘Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My apologies for the card.’

Walliams, who co-starred with Sachs in the BBC drama Attachments in 2000, signed his card: 'Dearest Andrew. With love, David x.’

However, it is not clear what the controversy is. The actor is not quoted complaining about the card, while his wife Melody went as far as saying: 'David is a lovely boy.’

One unnamed friend who received the card, designed by Smythsons of Bond Street, said: ‘It is too rude to put on the mantlepiece because I don’t want the children seeing it. It is certainly not a traditional card and we decided to put it in a drawer.’

Walliams is a friend of Brand and defended him throughout the controversy over the phone calls.

An editorial column claims Walliams's cards 'remind us that this past year has seen a genuine popular revulsion against needless incivility and coarseness'.

Published: 28 Dec 2008