War of words on social media about David Walliams’ jibe

DAVID Walliams faced a Twitter backlash last night over a ‘cheap’ joke about Caroline Flack he made while presenting this year’s National Television Awards.

The Little Britain star and Britain’s Got Talent judge was fiercely criticised for a comment he made about the late Love Island presenter’s career.

At the time, Flack had stepped down from hosting the ITV2 reality show and had retreated from public life after she was charged with assaulting boyfriend Lewis Burton.

During the awards ceremony in London last month, the Hedgehog character from ITV’s The Masked Singer appeared on stage and Walliams insinuated that Flack was inside the costume.

He said: ‘It’s nice to see Caroline Flack back on TV.’ His remark was met with boos from the audience.

After Flack’s death was announced last night, thousands of Twitter users demanded that

Walliams should apologise to Flack’s family about the jibe.

One Twitter user said: ‘I keep thinking about David Walliams’ joke at the TV awards … we have no idea what someone is going through when they hit rock bottom, but we should never use others downfall for a cheap laugh.’

However, others said the backlash was the kind of nastiness being criticised. One Twitter user said: ‘Surely this is the vicious circle that needs to stop?’