Ant McPartlin hit with fine and ban after drink-driving incident

TV presenter Ant McPartlin has been banned from the roads and fined £86,000 after pleading guilty to drink-driving.

TV presenter Anthony McPartlin (left) arrives at The Court House in Wimbledon, London to face charges of drink driving. Picture: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

The 42-year-old 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.

McPartlin was met by a waiting pack of photographers and television cameras when he arrived at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

He stepped out of a black Mercedes people carrier to face the media scrum as he walked up the steps at the main entrance to the court building in south-west London, which was guarded by seven police officers.

Wearing a black, three-piece suit, white shirt and black tie, McPartlin stood in the glass dock in court, sporting a light beard.

He spoke to confirm his name, date of birth, address and nationality before pleading guilty to a single charge of drink-driving.

The charge states he had 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath.

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.

In a letter read out in court, McPartlin said he is “ashamed and mortified” and “accepts full responsibility”.

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.

McPartlin appeared alongside Donnelly on TV screens over the weekend as Britain’s Got Talent aired its pre-recorded audition shows.

But ITV confirmed Donnelly will be hosting the live shows without his TV partner of almost 30 years.