David Walliams

Comedy's five best sketch duos, according to Max & Ivan

The British double act pay tribute to their heroes - including Matt Lucas and David Walliams, Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, and the late Ronnies Corbett and Barker.

Pictures: Stars arrive for Michael McIntyre party

Rob Brydon, David Walliams and Russell Howard were amongst the guests at Michael McIntyre's star-studded birthday bash.

Ronnie Corbett would have been knighted

Ronnie Corbett, one of the nation's best-loved entertainers, was to have been knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, after a discreet campaign led by fellow comedian David Walliams, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

David Walliams faces axe from Britain's Got Talent

David Walliams is allegedly facing the axe from Britain's Got Talent. According to reports, the comedian could be given the boot as tensions continue to rise between him and Simon Cowell.

David Walliams receives letter of complaint from kid

As a Britain's Got Talent judge, David Walliams is used to dishing out criticism, but he has now learnt what it's like to be on the receiving end, courtesy of an 11-year-old school child.

Billionaire Boy was a New Year's Day treat on BBC One. Adapted from the children's book of the same name by David Walliams, it told the story of Joe Spud, whose father becomes an billionaire overnight after inventing a new type of toilet roll.

It was very well done - funny, smart and entertaining in the best tradition of classic family comedy films such as Richie Rich or Home Alone, and packed with excellent lines: when Joe commits a minor misdemeanour in the Spuds' new mansion, his father responds with: "Go to your rooms!"

The cast were brilliant, especially Elliot Sprakes in the title role. Catherine Tate was hilarious as the celebrity hand model Sapphire Diamond, Rebecca Front and James Fleet were effortlessly funny as put-upon teachers at Ruffington school (motto: "Doing the best we can"), Warwick Davis was a butler and Walliams himself made an appearance as Mrs Trafe, the world's worst dinner lady, whose offerings included onion mousse, cold pilchard soup and kidney custard pie.

The youngster in Billionaire Boy was Joe Spud (Elliot Sprakes) whose poor existence is transformed when his father Len (John Thomson) invents a new type of toilet paper. Whilst Len wants to flaunt his new found wealth, Joe is keen to remain as normal as possible and therefore gets Davis, who plays himself, to enrol him in the local state school. Without his wealth to fall back on, Joe finds a friend who doesn't want him just for his money and also gets treated like just another kid. However, at home, Joe feels his relationship with his father deteriorating after Len begins romancing the gold-digging hand model Sapphire Diamond (Tate). Inevitably the kids at school eventually find out about Joe's identity and this revelation has big side effects for both his class teacher (Rebecca Front) and his relationship with his fellow pupils. I've previously been a fan of the now annual David Walliams adaptations and I was particularly taken with last year's Boy in the Dress, as it felt like it told a very personal story. However, in comparison, Billionaire Boy is a little bit paint-by-numbers for my liking as the central theme of 'money can't buy you happiness' is something that has been done better before. It was also hard to warm to Len, as we saw very little of him before he became a conceited billionaire and therefore I didn't really care when he lost his fortune at the end of the story. Luckily Billionaire Boy was saved by the lively central performance of Elliot Sprakes who was utterly convincing as a normal boy who was keen not to let his wealth change him. The supporting cast also helped add colour to the grotesque characters with Tate being a particular stand out as Sapphire Diamond and Walliams himself putting a memorable cameo as a school dinner lady. Overall, Billionaire Boy was a good way to while away an hour and was one of the only programmes on TV over Christmas that the whole family could watch together. On the other hand I can't help but being a little disappointed as in my opinion Billionaire Boy just didn't stack up against the other Walliams adaptations which have all been highlights of the previous three years' festive schedules.

Billionaire Boy earns praise

David Walliams' book adaptation Billionaire Boy was given high praise after its premiere on New Years Day.

Billionaire Boy, review: 'a glorious romp'

With the anarchic spirit of the panto season, David Walliams's gleefully subversive tale warmed Ed Power's cockles.