Ashen-faced Ant’s shame as he’s fined £86,000 for drink-driving
Crash families tell of terror as ‘mortified’ star is fined £86k
ANT McPartlin said he was ‘ashamed and mortified’ as he was fined a record £86,000 for drink-driving yesterday.
Appearing gaunt and withdrawn, the TV presenter was also banned from driving for 20 months after a crash that left two families fearing for their lives last month.
The court heard a nine-year-old boy who was in one of the cars hit by McPartlin’s Mini later told his mother it came ‘round the corner like a rocket’.
The presenter’s fine is thought to be the highest imposed by a British court for drink-driving, topping the £54,000 given to footballer Yaya Toure in 2016 for the same offence.
Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard McPartlin’s car careered on to the wrong side of the road after he took a corner at ‘significant speed’ and hit two oncoming vehicles.
His breathalyser reading was 75 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath when he was arrested – more than twice the legal limit of 35mg.
Prosecutor Katie SinnettJones said the nine-year-old son of one of the drivers, whose car was hit head-on, cried out after the impact: ‘I’m dying mummy, I’m dying.’
The mother, named as Dr Ng, said: ‘I’m horrified at how someone can drive so dangerously. I genuinely thought the driver of the black Mini [McPartlin’s] had died as there was no movement.’
The Vanoo family, who were in the other vehicle hit by the TV presenter, said they were ‘heavily shaken’ by the incident. Their four-year-old daughter was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The presenter’s mother Christine was in the passenger seat of his Mini when it smashed into the two cars in Richmond, South-West London, on March 18.
Wearing a dark three-piece suit, McPartlin, 42, addressed the court to give his name, address and enter a guilty plea yesterday. He nodded solpened, emnly as the judge told him he had ‘disappointed his fans’.
Sentencing him, District Judge Barbara Barnes said: ‘At the time when it happened you were struggling with various personal problems and also alcohol issues for some months. This incident hap- sadly, when it seems you suffered a brief relapse.’
She described McPartlin’s previous ‘exemplary character’, adding: ‘I think it will have quite an impact on you to know you’re no longer a man of good character.’
Fining him, she said: ‘Because of the seriousness of this offence, the financial pain must be imposed on you as on any other offender.’
In a statement read by his barrister Liam Walker, McPartlin said: ‘I am very sorry I did this. I am ashamed and mortified that this happened.
‘I’m addressing what I now recognise as problems with alcohol and emotional issues. As a consequence I have sought immediate specialist help and support to ensure that nothing of this nature happens again.’
Speaking briefly outside the court after sentencing, the presenter added: ‘High standards are expected of me, I expect them of myself. I’ve let myself down, I let a lot of people down.
‘And for that I am truly sorry. I’d like to apologise to everybody involved in the crash and I’m just thankful no one was seriously hurt.’
McPartlin, who is divorcing his wife of 11 years, celebrity make-up artist Lisa Armstrong, was struggling to ‘come to terms with the end of his marriage’, his lawyers told the court.
A live BBC TV report outside the court yesterday was interrupted by another threecar crash, and viewers were swift to point out the irony on social media.
McPartlin pulled out of all work commitments after his crash, leaving his presenting partner Declan Donnelly to front the final episodes of ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway alone.
The pair’s other show, Britain’s Got Talent, is currently airing pre-recorded auditions featuring McPartlin, but Donnelly will host the programme’s live broadcasts alone.
‘I let a lot of people down’