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Steve Coogan has inadvertently announced a new series of The Trip while shirking a driving ban for speeding at almost 100mph.
The Alan Partridge star, 59, was caught speeding at 97mph while driving a Range Rover in July 2024 and was found to already have six penalty points on his licence.
In a plea to the court, Coogan said that the reason he wanted to avoid the ban was so he could drive while filming a new series of The Trip, which was previously believed to be finished for good.
Until now, it was thought the comedy show would not be returning for new episodes after it drew to an apparent end with a Greece-set fourth series in 2020.
But Coogan wrote in a letter addressed to Birmingham magistrates court: “I have a series of important film commitments scheduled for 2025, many of which involve driving as a central component of the work.
“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.
Coogan revealed that the series will start filming “towards the end of June 2025”, adding: “If I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed.”
The actor argued that his “own livelihood” would be “affected” by a ban, “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.”
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Coogan said the five-month delay in the case reaching court “has significantly affected not only my ability to plan for the coming year but also discussions with colleagues and collaborators regarding potential upcoming projects”.
He asked the judge to dock a point from his penalties, leaving him with five instead of six, meaning he would fall just short of a six-month ban he could be hit with.
The existing penalty points will be wiped back to zero in August 2025.
Coogan has past experience in using his acting commitments to escape driving bans due to speeding.
In August 2019, he narrowly avoided a full six-month driving ban after a magistrates court took into account the “hardship” it would cause for people working on an Alan Partridge travelogue series.
Coogan had been caught driving at 36mph in a 30mph zone near his East Sussex home in January, and faced being handed three points on his licence for the offence.
He told the judge: “I’m producing a travelogue TV series where I’m basically driving around Britain.
“The whole nature of the series is that it is a travelogue and it’s an artistic thing that he drives and that defines his character. You couldn’t put him on a train because that’s not who he is – it’s part of his character that he drives.”
Coogan and Brydon were adamant that the fourth series of The Trip would be the end, stating back in 2020: “I was going to say quit while you’re ahead but if that was the case we would have quit with [series] three.
“But quit while you’re not far behind. Jump before you’re pushed. We made a joke about being repetitive in this one but I think making jokes about being repetitive about being repetitive gets a bit thin.”
It’s unknown where a new series of the Trip will be set. Past series have seen the comedians, playing heightened versions of themselves, embark on a restaurant tour of northern England, Italy, Spain and Greece
The Independent has contacted Sky for comment.
