Steve Coogan has prevented a driving ban after pleading with the decide that it might influence his upcoming TV present.
The Alan Partridge actor, 59, was caught doing 97mph on the M6 close to Telford on 29 July final 12 months.
Coogan already had six factors on his licence – so an additional six would have seen him disqualified.
However in a letter to Birmingham Magistrates Court docket, he burdened {that a} ban would consequence within the subsequent sequence of his sitcom The Journey being “severely impacted”, in accordance with the Night Commonplace.
“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 learn.
He added that different “important film commitments” this 12 months additionally 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.”
Picture:
Rob Brydon (left) and Steve Coogan attend a 2014 screening of The Journey. Pic: PA
Coogan implored the decide to impose 5 factors as an alternative of six – which after he pleaded responsible – was ultimately agreed upon on 30 January.
He was additionally fined £2,500, given a £1,000 surcharge, and compelled to pay £90 in prices.
The Journey’s director Michael Winterbottom has beforehand mentioned there wouldn’t be a fifth sequence – however Coogan’s courtroom correspondence suggests in any other case.
The sequence sees Coogan and Brydon taking part in caricatures of themselves – travelling across the likes of Italy, Spain and the UK.
He wrote an identical letter in 2019 after he was caught rushing, telling the decide the brand new sequence of Alan Partridge can be disrupted if he was disqualified.
In the end he was banned – however for under two months as an alternative of the same old six – that means the present might go forward.
He was beforehand banned for 28 days in 2016 for driving nearly twice the 30mph pace restrict in Brighton.
