Steve Coogan escapes driving ban despite speeding at 97mph after plea

Steve Coogan pleaded guilty to speeding on the M6 (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock for Ch)

Steve Coogan has swerved a driving ban for speeding at 97mph after telling a judge it could lead to the axe of his travel series The Trip with Rob Brydon.

The Alan Partridge star, 59, wrote a letter to Birmingham Magistrates Court after he was charged with speeding in a Range Rover on the M6 near the junction for Telford on July 29.

In it, Coogan – who already has six points on his licence – begged the court to impose a penalty of five points so he would remain under the threshold for an automatic six-month driving ban.

The Brian and Maggie actor said a driving disqualification would result in the cancellation of his upcoming TV projects, which includes The Trip and a BBC show And Did Those Feet… with Alan Partridge.

Coogan’s letter said according to the Daily Mail: ‘I have a series of important film commitments scheduled for 2025, many of which involve driving as a central component of the work.

‘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.

He pleaded with the court to not be banned for driving (Picture: BBC/Revolution)

‘This starts filming towards the end of June 2025 and if I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed.’

In the letter, Coogan also noted the current points on his licence were due to expire in August and shared his frustration the case took six months to be heard.

After entering a guilty plea, the Night at the Museum actor was handed five penalty points – one short of a ban – and ordered to pay a £2,500 fine, £90 costs and a £1,000 victim surcharge.

He was also banned from driving for two months instead of six enabling him to continue with the production of his TV projects.

Coogan said a driving ban would interfere with the filming of The Trip (Picture: Sky/Andy Hall)

The actor is also filming another Alan Partridge series (Picture: BBC/Baby Cow/Gary Moyes)

In 2019, Coogan dodged another driving ban after claiming it would prevent him from being able to film his new Alan Partridge series.

Coogan was caught driving his Porsche at 36mph in a 30mph zone close to his £4million mansion in Halland, East Sussex.

The comedian was clocked on January 8 by an automatic camera on the A22 Eastbourne Road and faced a three-point endorsement on his driving licence.

At the time, the motoring enthusiast already had nine points from previous motoring offences and a further three points would mean he would have 12 points and face an automatic six-month ban under the totting-up procedure.

Coogan was previously banned from driving in 2016 (Picture: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Magistrates in Crawley decided to hand him a two-month driving ban after hearing a sixth-month ban would force him to cancel an Alan Partridge travelogue television show.

Ann Schroder, chair of the magistrates bench, said they had taken into account the ‘exceptional hardship’ it would cause other TV professionals if the series had to be cancelled.

Coogan admitted his driving record was not good but claimed he has now taken steps to alter his behaviour.

He said: ‘I’m trying to slow down and I try to observe the average speed limits that have come in. I tend to drive the one, the car, with the automatic cruise control that will keep me within the speed.’

In 2016, Coogan was fined and slapped with a driving ban for doing 54mph in a 30mph zone.

He was driving his Mazda at almost twice the speed limit in Brighton last October when he was caught. He did not appear in court but admitted speeding in his £25,000 Mazda MX-5 through his solicitor.

As well as the ban, which prohibited him from getting behind the wheel for 28 days, Coogan was fined £670, with £85 in costs, by Worthington magistrates.

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