DR WHO GETS SPEEDING BAN
Time Lord travelled forward...at 58mph
DOCTOR Who’s Colin Baker fought back the tears as he was banned from driving for speeding.
The veteran actor, who starred as the sixth Time Lord in the 1980s, was clocked doing 58mph in a 30mph zone in his Lexus.
Baker, 79, who also appeared on I’m a Celebrity...get Me Out Of Here! in 2012, said he had put his foot down after getting lost while following a BBC camera crew last November.
He said he was caught out because the speed limit had changed from the national limit to 30mph.
The father of five, from High Wycombe, Bucks, told Worcester magistrates’ a road ban would cause him “exceptional hardship”. Asked what impact it would have, he replied: “Quite a lot. Because of what I do, I’m very conscious of how I drive.”
He explained he had been working at Telford in Shropshire and was about to do filming five miles away in Ironbridge when he was caught. Baker added: “I followed the BBC camera car, lost them on a roundabout, tried to catch up. That’s when I committed the offence. I’d no intention of speeding.” He begged: “Yes it’s a sob story you have probably heard a thousand times, but it’s true. I’m an actor. Not working for me is not an option.”
Baker added he would be forced to turn down work if banned due to the difficulty of getting to venues. He said he had rejected a job in order to be at court.
But chairman of the bench Jayne Burton told him on Friday the speed was nearly twice the limit and was not “just a few miles per hour over”.
The clerk at the court said he had checked Baker’s record and it had six penalty points that had not expired – despite the actor claiming that he had just three.
Baker was banned from driving for 21 days, fined £480 and ordered to pay court costs of £95 plus a victim surcharge of £34. He thanked magistrates and said he would pay the £609 within 28 days. Baker played the Time Lord in the hit BBC One sci-fi drama series from 1984 to 1986.