David Walliams reveals how his son inspires his children's books and why he keeps him out of the spotlight
Beloved for his comical judging style and hilarious TV appearances on Britain's Got Talent, David Walliams is also known to younger fans as a popular children's author.
READ: Alesha Dixon shares her top children's books
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Ahead of the exciting release of his brand new book Spaceboy in September, David spoke to HELLO! for our Back to School Digital Issue, guest-edited by none other than his BGT co-star Alesha Dixon.
In our exclusive chat, the father-of-one opened up about his fascinating writing process and the choice he made to keep his young son Alfred out of the spotlight as well as what makes Alesha such a fabulous mum.
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David, how did you come up with the character and the plot for your new book Spaceboy?
"Well, I normally have a few ideas floating around at the same time. Sometimes I have a sense of where I'd like the story to be as in the setting or the time.
"This one I wanted to set in the 1960s, during the space race, because when I was a kid, I was very interested in history. I wasn't alive for it but I was interested in the missions to the moon and that kind of stuff. I wanted it to be different to the books that I set in Britain in the present day, so those kinds of challenges are quite exciting.
"I sometimes have ideas that might float around for years, and I never quite know what to do with them, you know? And then eventually a few ideas creep in and then suddenly it starts to fall into place."
The star brought out his first book in 2008
Who would you say that you're inspired by when it comes to writing?
"I do take a lot from the movies I watched as a kid. I think about the films that I love and think, 'What is so brilliant about this? What would be my version of this story?'
"I think you just take inspiration from anywhere you can because you just never know when a good idea might come along.
"My son might be walking in the park and might come up with an idea for me, or you can overhear a conversation or maybe you see a news story on TV that gives you an idea. We look at all my books together and read them and he's interested.
"Coming up with ideas is the fun part so he definitely gets into that and my nephew too… It's fun to come up with ideas. If I say I'm writing a book about monsters or something, you could walk into any classroom in the country and immediately kids would come up with ideas, it's fun.
"I've done that thing where you talk to a group of kids and you say, 'We're going to create a monster' and [ask them] 'What does it look like? What does is sound like?' It's a really fun thing to do. You've just got to be receptive the whole time and just encourage them the whole time."
Spaceboy preorder, £7.49, Waterstones
Other than your own brilliant books, do you have any other books that you would recommend for children?
"I think for younger children, you cannot go wrong with Julia Donaldson who is actually the best-selling author in the country. She has so many brilliant ones. Obviously The Gruffalo is the most famous but I've never read a book of hers I haven't loved and I read all of them to my son, she's awesome.
"Moving on from there I'd say Dame Jaqueline Wilson is an absolute genius. She's written so many books but she's probably most celebrated for Tracy Beaker. She deals with very complex emotions in a way that I think can be understood by a young audience.
"JK Rowling, there's almost no point mentioning her because she is so famous, but she created a world which is one of the most imaginative worlds in any book series ever. There's something so brilliant because you just want to go to Hogwarts, I just really want to go to Hogwarts. I always think with J.K Rowling a good book might have two or three good ideas in it, but she has hundreds."
He is a doting father to son Alfred and dogs Bert and Ernie
You're very good at keeping your son out of the limelight, why is that so important to you?
"Well, because it's just childhood isn't it? Being in the spotlight, I don't see how that would help them. You don't know what they're going to want to do with their lives. What's the point of them being on display, I don't understand it.
"They might choose to do something completely private with their lives in which case there doesn't seem to be any advantage to it. You've got to make your own choices about that sort of thing. I knew what I was getting into, this is what I signed up to. Making a television programme, you know it's different, it's unavoidable and if you're a kid it must be quite hard."
I have to ask, what is your proudest dad moment?
"My son turned nine this year. He said he didn't want any presents for his birthday. Instead he wanted to raise money for children in war torn Ukraine.
"So we set up a Just Giving Page, I said I would double whatever he raised, and in the end we had a good amount that went straight to UNICEF. I couldn’t have been prouder of him."
David released his first book in 2008
What would you say makes Alesha a brilliant mum?
"She's very engaged with the kids. She's always with them if possible. She sets a brilliant example for them, she's hardworking. She's a very together person. She's very honest, and straightforward and when you see her around her children you understand why they adore her so much because she's just wonderful with them, you know? And I think family is very important to her.
"I remember saying to her the nation fell in love with you when you did Strictly and it's just been so since then. She's part of the landscape as someone who is very much loved and admired, and she can really back it up, she's really talented.
"Often as the talent show judges [we get asked] if we actually have any talent of our own but she genuinely really does, undeniably because she sings, she dances, she writes songs, she's just very hardworking.
Alesha and David are on the BGT pannel together
"So it's lovely to see because she's just a good person all-round. There's no edge with her, there's nothing like, 'Oh she's different in real life.' She's very, what you see is what you get, and she's good fun as well. You can make any sort of joke and she's cool with it.
"We were just in Australia, doing Australia's Got Talent and her whole family were there, her sister, her partner's brother and everything. She's a very family-orientated person and she obviously adores her kids and is a very good mum."
Spaceboy by David Walliams, illustrated by Adam Stower. Out on 29th September 2022, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.
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