Tarrant banned after ‘boozy lunch’ at pub
TV star Chris Tarrant was fined £6,000 and banned from driving yesterday following a tip-off to police by fellow drinkers in his local pub.
Tarrant, 71, bought port and brandy during a boozy lunch and was spotted stumbling before he climbed behind the wheel of his £60,000 Mercedes.
The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host drove two miles to his seven-bedroom mansion where police arrived shortly afterwards.
Reading magistrates court heard Tarrant lied to an officer. At first he claimed he drank three glasses of wine after returning from the Bladebone Inn in Bucklebury, the village where the Duchess of Cambridge grew up.
In a later interview he gave a different account – saying he had a large glass of brandy and a glass of wine after arriving home.
But yesterday he made an apology and pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was disqualified for 12 months and fined £6,000.
As he left the court with long-term girlfriend Jane Bird, the presenter said: “I made a mistake and I paid for it. I shouldn’t have driven. Full stop.”
The presenter said he drank “just enough to be over”, adding: “I honestly didn’t think I was over but apparently I was, so fair enough.”
The court yesterday heard Tarrant’s breathalyser reading was 50 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.
Tarrant went to the pub at 12.30pm on December 16 and was served four drinks – all port and brandy.
Prosecutor Hasrat Ali said that staff and others in the pub were concerned that he had decided to drive home after 2pm.
Mr Ali said: “One member of the public there had noticed that Tarrant had stumbled near the bar area.
“Witnesses spoke to each other and as a result one member of the public phoned the police to report a drink driver.
“Police attended at 2.25pm at Tarrant’s home address, the call having been made 13 minutes before.”
Tarrant’s lawyer Simon Ray told the court the presenter made “a regrettable miscalculation” and “considered that he was fit to drive” the short distance to his home.
He said: “He is sorry for that.”