Outrage as David Walliams poses as British Airways attendant at Heathrow and pranks nervous flyers
Star poses as check-in agent and charges extra for 'wrong colour' baggage
DAVID Walliams sparked fury among unsuspecting airport passengers for a Comic Relief stunt.
The star donned a black wig and fake teeth and “camped it up”, causing a nightmare for stressed travellers.
Couples arriving for BA flights from Heathrow were confronted by the star posing as a check-in agent.
Walliams, wearing full BA uniform and fake airport security ID, told flyers they would have to pay more because the had the “wrong colour suitcase”.
This skit backfired... Stressed passengers didn’t enjoy it. Some were on the brink of tears
Passengers were overheard cursing at the comedian as he inspected their passports and said they looked nothing like their identification photos.
Asian couples were picked out for the stunt with bosses thinking they would be less likely to recognise Walliams.
The Little Britain star, who filmed a 2010 mockumentary TV series Come Fly With Me, a spoof of Airport and Airline, was recording a sketch for BBC charity fundraiser Comic Relief in March.
But one BA worker told The Sun: “This skit backfired. It was a great idea and may well make people laugh, but stressed passengers didn’t enjoy it. Some were on the brink of tears.
“For nervous flyers and security conscious passengers to be targeted for laughs raised some eyebrows among senior BA executives.”
Passengers picked out by Walliams in his check-in disguise were finally let in on the ruse as tempers reached boiling point in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on Wednesday.
Flyers were shown hidden cameras which had secretly recorded their reaction to being wound up by Walliams after they reached the front of the check-in queue.
Following their ordeal, they then still had to go through the correct BA check-in procedure.
A British Airways spokesperson said: "We are delighted that David Walliams agreed to work with us on this light-hearted film for our continued fund-raising efforts for Comic Relief.
"The customers we filmed enjoyed the experience, and many took photos with David afterwards. They agreed for us to include them in our footage."