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David Walliams pays tribute following sad death of beloved BGT star

The author spoke on This Morning

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Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
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David Walliams has paid a heartfelt tribute following the sad passing of one of Britain's Got Talent's stars, David J Watson.

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Retired NHS worker David died on Thursday 9 December, having appeared on the ITV talent show 12 times. 

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The author shared some kind words about the BGT contestant while on This Morning on Tuesday. When asked to name his favourite act on the show, David explained that he prefers people that make him laugh by doing something "daft" or "silly", before speaking about the death of David. 

"Today, we actually lost a guy called David J Watson," he told stand-in presenters, Vernon Kay and Rochelle Humes. "He was the man who was a contestant, he'd come back every year, year in, year out. He auditioned for the show about ten times." 

David continued: "He was a wonderful character, unfortunately, he passed away. He was a wonderful eccentric and characters like him are really the lifeblood of BGT and I always want to champion the underdog."

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The BGT contestant was found by police who had to force themselves into his home in Manchester following concerns raised by his loved ones. 

amanda holden insta story© Photo: Instagram

Amanda Holden shared an emotional tribute to David on her Instagram stories

Fellow BGT judge, Amanda Holden, also shared an emotional tribute following David's death. Taking to her Instagram story, the actress posted a photo of David along with the following caption: "So sad to hear that @davidjwatsonbgt has passed away. He was always up for a laugh and such a good sport on @bgt. We will miss him."

The well-liked contestant first appeared on the ITV show back in 2008 when he did impersonations of politicians David Blunkett, William Hague and former Prime Minister Tony Blair. David went on to audition for the show every year since 2013. 

In 2020, David made it to the second round of the talent competition, the furthest he had ever reached on the show. 

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