TV presenter Ant McPartlin has said he is “truly sorry” after crashing his car in Richmond while drink-driving with his mother in the passenger seat.
The Saturday Night Takeaway star spoke outside Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Monday (April 16) after he was fined £86,000 and banned from the roads for 20 months.
McPartlin, from Chiswick , said he “let himself down” after his Mini was involved in a three-vehicle crash on March 18 this year.
He said: “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'm truly sorry."
Ant and Dec in the news
“I'd like to apologise to everybody involved in the crash and I'm just thankful nobody was seriously hurt," he added outside court.
The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to driving while more than twice the legal limit and said he was "ashamed and mortified" of his actions in a statement.
The court heard McPartlin had been seeking help for "alcohol and emotional issues" at the time of the crash.
Prosecutor Katie Sinnett-Jones said the incident happened at around 3.50pm when McPartlin drove his Mini around a "sharp bend and lost control" and ended up on the wrong side of the road.
He collided with another Mini Cooper before driving "straight into the front of an oncoming car".
McPartlin's vehicle "came to a halt and was no longer driveable due to the damage caused," Ms Sinnett-Jones said.
District Judge Barbara Barnes described McPartlin's previous "exemplary character" and added: "I think it will have quite an impact on you to know you're no longer a man of good character."
Fining him £86,000, 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.
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can set up your app to see all the latest news and events from your area, plus receive push notifications for breaking news.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android .
