Steve Coogan avoids driving ban despite 97mph speeding incident as he uses TV show as excuse
Steve Coogan has inadvertently revealed plans for a fifth series of The Trip whilst attempting to avoid a driving ban for speeding at nearly 100mph.
The Alan Partridge star, 59, disclosed the previously unannounced series in a letter to Birmingham magistrates court after being caught driving at 97mph in a Range Rover last July.
The comedy show, which sees Coogan travel and dine with Rob Brydon, was thought to have concluded with its fourth series in Greece in 2020.
The revelation came as Coogan pleaded with the court to spare him from a lengthy driving ban that could jeopardise filming scheduled for June 2025.
In his letter to the court, Coogan wrote: “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,” he explained.
The actor revealed filming would begin “towards the end of June 2025”, adding: “If I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed.”
Coogan argued the ban would affect not only his livelihood but also “camera, sound, and lighting technicians, riggers, and others on modest wages who would face cancellations and financial hardship.”
The revelation marks a significant U-turn, as both Coogan and Brydon had previously insisted the fourth series would be the last.
In 2020, they had stated: “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,” they added at the time. “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.”
Director Michael Winterbottom had also publicly ruled out the possibility of another series as recently as February last year.
The court ultimately granted Coogan’s request, imposing five penalty points instead of six, leaving him just short of a driving ban.
He was ordered to pay a £2,500 fine, plus £90 costs and a £1,000 victim surcharge.
This is not the first time Coogan has used his TV commitments to avoid a lengthy ban.
In August 2019, he successfully argued for a reduced two-month driving ban after being caught doing 36mph in a 30mph zone, citing the impact a longer ban would have on filming an Alan Partridge travelogue.
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He was also banned from driving for 28 days in 2016 after being caught at 54mph in a 30mph zone in Brighton.
Previous series of The Trip have seen the comedians, playing heightened versions of themselves, embark on restaurant tours across northern England, Italy, Spain and Greece.
While the location for the fifth series remains unknown, Ireland, Wales, and the US have all been previously mooted as potential destinations.
Sky, which aired the third and fourth series after the show moved from the BBC, has declined to comment on whether it will broadcast the new series.
The show’s format sees the pair travel by car between restaurants, offering their impressions and witty observations along the way.