TV personality Ant McPartlin has been fined £86,000 after pleading guilty to drink-driving.
The Saturday Night Takeaway star arrived to a huge media presence outside Wimbledon Magistrates Court on Monday morning.
He admitted he was more than twice the legal limit after his black Mini collided with two other cars in Richmond, West London, on March 18.
"I'm truly sorry for what happened… I let a lot of people down" says TV presenter Ant McPartlin after being found guilty of drink driving pic.twitter.com/rHp8UKjzo4
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 16, 2018
Tv presenter Ant McPartlin arrives at court for his drink driving charge… pic.twitter.com/82ACTKj45B
— Richard Pallot (@richpallotitv) April 16, 2018
The 42-year-old spoke to confirm his name, date of birth, address and nationality before pleading guilty to a single charge of drink-driving.
The charge stated he had 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100mm of breath – the legal limit is 35 microgrammes per 100mm of breath.
He has been fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.
The court heard that in a statement to police McPartlin said: “I am very sorry I did this. I am ashamed and mortified that this happened.
“I accept full culpability for this and wish to apologise to all those concerned.”
McPartlin, who lives in Chiswick, west London, was arrested at around 4pm on March 18 after a failing a roadside breathalyser test following a collision between the Mini he was driving and two other cars.
The Metropolitan Police previously confirmed that a number of individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries, and a child passenger from one of the cars was taken to hospital to be checked as a precaution.
McPartlin’s barrister Liam Walker said his client had been seeking help for “alcohol and emotional issues” at the time of the crash, adding that his mother was in the car with him.
He told the district judge the incident was down to “a brief relapse unbeknownst to his passenger”.
“Anthony McPartlin is sorry and is doing everything he can to ensure this never happens again,” Mr Walker said.
“He hopes that in time he can make himself better and that he might be forgiven by all of the many people he knows and he feels he has let down terribly.”
District Judge Barbara Barnes told McPartlin “you are a well-known and successful entertainer,” whose weekly income is around £130,000 a week.
Sentencing him, she said: “At the time when it happened you were struggling with various personal problems and also alcohol issues for some months.
“This incident happened, sadly, when it seems you suffered a brief relapse.”
The judge 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.”
McPartlin was also told to pay £255 in costs.
Speaking outside the court, McPartlin said: “I just want to say I’m truly sorry for what happened. Higher standards are expected of me, I expect them of myself. I let myself down, I let a lot of people down. For that I am truly sorry.
“I’d like to apologise to everyone involved in the crash and I’m just thankful nobody was seriously hurt.”
After he was charged, ITV announced the Saturday Night Takeaway host would step back from his TV commitments, with co-presenter Declan Donnelly hosting the final two episodes of the show on his own.
Arriving wearing a black suit and white shirt, McPartlin faced a scrum of photographers and reporters as he walked up the steps at the main entrance to the court building in south-west London.
The court was guarded by seven police officers.
