DAVID Walliams lost his ability to be funny and has only booked one new gig since his Britain's Got Talent axing, court papers reveal.
The comedian, 52, has lodged a £10million High Court claim against the makers of the hit ITV show.
Walliams was sacked from BGT last year after jibes he made about contestants were leaked.
The High Court writ says Walliams was recorded by Fremantle Media and says his private chats were transcribed and retained "without consent" over ten years.
And Walliams claims he has "lost the ability to be funny" amid fears that whatever he says or does will be used against him.
In a 21-page legal document, his lawyers say: "He was extremely upset to learn that private information, including many highly sensitive personal matters, had been recorded without his consent or knowledge, transcribed, shared internally among the Defendant's (Fremantle) employees and retained apparently indefinitely.
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"Furthermore, the Defendant's breaches have affected the Claimant's ability to perform.
"He feels vulnerable on entering a studio because he fears that what he says and does in that setting may be recorded and leaked without his consent.
"Because of the constant concern that any unguarded comments could be used against him, he has lost the ability to be spontaneous or edgy — in short, to be funny.
"His inability to perform in this, his signature manner, has caused him further acute distress, because he has lost an important part of his personal and professional identity."
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Walliams, who says he has suffered suicidal thoughts after being cancelled from public life, is seeking £1million he stood to get from the prime-time ITV show, plus £1.7million in lost earnings from the last year.
He wants an additional £3.4million covering future losses over at least the next two years, taking the total to £6.1million.
It comes as Simon Cowell trashed Walliams' claims that he was spied on.
Cowell, 64, is said to be livid at his former pal alleging that he was secretly recorded over ten years.
Cowell has unfollowed former pal Walliams on Instagram — and says his claims of spying on are "plain wrong".
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