Actor and comedian Steve Coogan has been spared a lengthy driving ban after using his show The Trip as an excuse for not receiving a heftier punishment for speeding at 97mph.
Coogan was travelling on the M6 in a Range Rover near Telford, Shropshire, on July 29 last year when he was caught going over the 70mph speed limit, a court official said.
In a letter to Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, reported by the Evening Standard, he urged the court not to disqualify him as he had already accrued six points on his licence.
The newspaper said the Alan Partridge actor told the court he was expected to film The Trip, which the 59-year-old appears in with co-star Rob Brydon, and a lengthy driving ban would mean “the production would likely be unable to proceed”.
Coogan’s request for five penalty points to be imposed instead of six was granted after he pleaded guilty to the offence on January 30.
He was banned from driving for two months, rather than the six-month ban he would have received had he been hit with six penalty points, and was ordered to pay a £2,500 fine, plus £90 costs and a £1,000 victim surcharge.
The Evening Standard said his letter to the court read: “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 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.”
Coogan previously successfully argued for a shorter driving ban at Crawley Magistrates’ Court in August 2019 after being caught doing 36mph in a 30mph zone – saying an extended disqualification would mean he could not film the new series of Alan Partridge.
He was also banned from driving for 28 days at Worthing Magistrates’ Court in 2016 for travelling at 54mph in a 30mph zone in a Mazda sports car.
