Steve Coogan has avoided a driving ban after pleading with the judge that it would impact his upcoming TV show.
The Alan Partridge actor, 59, was caught doing 97mph on the M6 near Telford on 29 July last year.
Coogan already had six points on his licence – so a further six would have seen him disqualified.
But in a letter to Birmingham Magistrates Court, he stressed that a ban would result in the next series of his sitcom The Trip being “severely impacted”, according to the Evening Standard.
“I am due to appear in a well-established TV series called The Trip (with Rob Brydon) which as the title suggests requires me to drive,” his letter read.
He added that other “important film commitments” this year also require him to drive.
“These projects would be severely impacted, not only affecting my own livelihood but also the many individuals dependent on these productions for work,” he wrote.
“These include camera, sound, and lighting technicians, riggers, and others on modest wages who would face cancellations and financial hardship, as rescheduling such projects is often highly complicated.”
Image: Rob Brydon (left) and Steve Coogan attend a 2014 screening of The Trip. Pic: PA
Coogan implored the judge to impose five points instead of six – which after he pleaded guilty – was eventually agreed upon on 30 January.
He was also fined £2,500, given a £1,000 surcharge, and forced to pay £90 in costs.
The Trip’s director Michael Winterbottom has previously said there would not be a fifth series – but Coogan’s court correspondence suggests otherwise.
A man has been arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of killing a pigeon that he reportedly filmed himself abusing.Hiroshi Tsuji, a 49-year-old taxi driver from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, allegedly captured the bird on the side of a river in the Japanese capital sometime between April and June 2024, local media outlets reported.He is accused of beating and whipping the animal before killing it at some point between June and August, […]
Post comments (0)