Steve Coogan swerves driving ban after being caught doing 97mph after arguing the punishment would stop him making hit show The Trip with Rob Brydon
Actor Steve Coogan has used his hit show The Trip as an excuse to swerve a driving ban after he was caught doing 97mph.
The 59-year-old Alan Partridge star had been behind the wheel of a Range Rover on the M6 in July 29 last year when he was clocked at the high speed.
It comes as Coogan had already accrued six penalty points on his licence prompting him to fear more could take him over the threshold for disqualification.
And it is not the first time the BAFTA award-winning comedian has got out of a ban as in 2019 he escaped a lengthy punishment after claiming he would be forced to cancel his BBC One Alan Partridge series.
This time round he has written to court pleading not to be disqualified as he pointed out he was expected to appear on The Trip with Welsh actor and comedian Rob Brydon.
In a letter to Birmingham magistrates court, he said: '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.
'This starts filming towards the end of June 2025 and if I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed.'
Rob Brydon (L) and Steve Coogan (R) in The Trip. The actor has used the show as an excuse to swerve a driving ban after he was caught doing 97mph
Coogan asked the magistrate to impose five penalty points instead of six meaning he would be just below the threshold for an automatic six-month disqualification
In a letter to Birmingham magistrates court (pictured), he said: 'I have a series of important film commitments scheduled for 2025, many of which involve driving as a central component of the work'
Coogan asked the magistrate to impose five penalty points instead of six meaning he would be just below the threshold for an automatic six-month disqualification.
He added the past penalty points on his licence would be due to expire in August 2025 and insisted he had stuck to speed limits since the incident.
Coogan also expressed frustration it had taken almost six months for the prosecution to be brought.
The offence happened just before midnight on the northbound side of the M6 just before Junction 12 for Telford.
Coogan entered a guilty plea and was handed five penalty points, leaving him one point short of facing a ban. He was ordered to pay a £2,500 fine, plus £90 costs and a £1,000 victim surcharge.
The court decided in the end to ban Coogan from driving for two months, instead of the usual six, which meant the TV show could be made as planned.
Four years previously the I'm Alan Partridge star was caught driving his Porsche at 36mph in a 30mph zone close to his £4million mansion in Halland, East Sussex.
But the motoring enthusiast already had nine points from previous motoring offences and a further three points would have meant he would have had 12 points and faced an automatic six-month ban under the totting up procedure.
The Trip to Greece promotional photo with Coogan (L) and Brydon (R)
Brydon (L) and Coogan (R) in The Trip to Spain. The hit show The Trip was first broadcast in 2010 and currently has four series
However, magistrates in Crawley decided to hand Coogan a two-month ban after hearing a sixth-month suspension would force him to cancel an Alan Partridge travelogue television series he is set to make for the BBC.
Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and tie, Coogan told the court: 'I'm producing a travelogue follow on TV series where I'm basically driving around Britain.
'The whole nature of the series is that it is a travelogue and it's an artistic thing that he drives and that defines his character.
'You couldn't put him on a train because that is not who he is - it's part of his character that he drives.'
In 2016 Coogan was told he cannot drive again for 28 days after being clocked doing 54mph in a 30mph zone in a £25,000 MX-5 in Brighton, East Sussex.
That time round, Coogan did not appear at the hearing at Worthing Magistrates Court but admitted the offence via his solicitor.
And back in 2012, Coogan was cleared of a driving charge after saying he had forgotten who was behind the wheel of his car when it was caught speeding.
The actor told magistrates that the identity of the driver of his Range Rover had ‘slipped my mind’ because he was so busy.
Hit show The Trip was first broadcast in 2010 and currently has four series with its stars Winterbottom, Coogan and Brydon stating the final one would be The Trip to Greece.
Coogan has previously told of his fondness for driving and told the court amid his latest offence he drives around 14,000 miles a year for work on TV shows, films, and podcasts.
