Steve Coogan has revealed that he is filming a new season of comedy The Trip in a bid to avoid being banned from driving.
The Philomena actor wrote to a British court to argue against the driving disqualification because it would jeopardize The Trip‘s plans to shoot this summer and put crew members out of work.
Coogan’s letter, obtained by The Standard newspaper, followed him being caught driving at 97mph on a UK freeway on July 29 last year.
The Standard said Birmingham magistrates court listened to Coogan’s plea and handed him five penalty points, leaving him one short of a ban. He was ordered to pay a £3,590 fine and other costs.
“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. This starts filming towards the end of June 2025 and if I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed,” Coogan reportedly wrote.
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“These projects would be severely impacted, not only affecting my own livelihood but also the many individuals dependent on these productions for work. 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.”
It is not the first time Coogan has argued against a speeding offense by using his career. In 2019, he was handed a shorter driving ban after making the case that a new season of Alan Partridge for the BBC would be derailed by a longer disqualification.
The Trip first premiered in 2010 and has run for four seasons, two of which aired on the BBC, while the other two were shown on Sky. The Comcast-owned broadcaster declined to comment on whether it will be home to Season 5.
Ireland, Wales, and the U.S. have all been mooted as potential destinations for the new season. It is not clear whether director Michael Winterbottom will return after he told NME there would be “no more Trips.”
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