David Walliams speaks out on rumoured romance with Natalia Imbruglia

David Walliams has revealed his heartbreak after being friend-zoned by former Neighbours star Natalie Imbruglia. 

The Little Britain comic admitted he fell for the Torn singer 'like a ton of bricks,' but she didn't feel the same way.

The pair, who were often seen together in London back in 2015, sparked romance rumours at the time. 

David, 53, had just split from his ex-wife, model Lara Stone, and was smitten with Natalie, 49 – but she only ever saw him as a close friend.

Speaking on Australian radio show Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie, David said: 'She’s very much friend-zoned me. You know when that happens, that you have a huge crush on someone and you sort of imagine being married and what your kids look like and all that sort of thing? And you’re just completely friend-zoned.'

He added that Natalie saw him more as a 'gay best friend' because of his camp humour.

David told the hosts: 'We didn’t go on any dates. We just became very good friends and we hung out together. 

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'But you know, it’s hard not to kind of fall for her like a ton of bricks because she is amazing. I think I’m seen as the sort of gay best friend by a lot of people.'

Reflecting on why things never progressed romantically, David joked: 'Well, look at me. Let's be honest, she could do a lot better.'

David, who has dated a string of high-profile women over the years, including Geri Halliwell and model Abi Titmuss, was previously married to Dutch model Lara Stone. 

The couple, who share an 11-year-old son, Alfred, split in 2015, with a court hearing for their divorce lasting just 60 seconds. 

David, who stepped down from his Britain's Got Talent judging role in 2022 after making 'disrespectful comments' about contestants, is now back working on new projects with Little Britain co-star Matt Lucas.

Matt appeared on This Morning at the beginning of October and was quizzed on rumours of a reboot for a new generation. 

Matt teased the possibility of the show's return and said: 'Well what we're doing is we're working on a few different TV ideas, and maybe ideas in other mediums as well, to do stuff together again because it's been a long time. So we're developing lots of different things.' 

It comes after Little Britain returned to BBC iPlayer in 2022 with offensive blackface scenes cut by producers, after it was removed from the service in 2020. 

Assurances were given at the time that some scenes were removed by creators Matt and David, and advisory warnings were used at the start of some episodes.

Some of its characters, including Vicky Pollard and wheelchair user Andy, were retained, alongside others including Matt's homosexual Welshman Dafydd Thomas and David's 'cross-dresser' Emily Howard.

As part of the show's 2022 revival, characters donning black face including Pastor Jesse King, Desiree DeVere and other racial stereotypes such as Thai bride Ting Tong, were axed.

In a statement at the time, the BBC said: 'Little Britain has been made available to fans on BBC iPlayer following edits made to the series by Matt and David that better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last 20 years since the show was first made.'