Blue star Lee Ryan banned from driving for six months
29 August 2020, 21:20
Singer and reality TV star Lee Ryan has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding twice within three months.
The All Rise singer, 37, admitted doing 85mph in a Mercedes on the M1 motorway near Sheffield on May 19 last year.
He was then caught doing 58mph in a 50mph zone in the same car while driving through Eltham, south-east London, on August 14, and failed to respond to police about who was driving the vehicle.
Ryan, who has appeared on TV shows including Celebrity Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing, was not represented at the hearing on Saturday afternoon, which he did not attend.
Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard that the singer was unaware that it was due to take place until it was reported in the press on Friday.
An email from Ryan's manager to court officials said he intended to plead guilty to all three charges, having previously admitted the Sheffield speeding offence through a solicitor last year.
"Mr Ryan is aware he is facing a driving ban," the email said, adding that the singer is currently out of work due to the coronavirus crisis and is not booked until May 2021.
Ryan, of Twickenham in west London, who had nine points on his licence, was disqualified from driving for six months, handed a £120 fine and told to pay costs of £142 - totalling £262.
Chair of the bench Richard Standen told the court: "He has been given credit for pleading guilty."
Ryan was banned from the roads for two years in 2014 after he was spotted driving his friend's Audi A3 wildly in the early hours of the morning.
The singer was arrested for drink-driving when he refused to let officers breathalyse him following the incident in Ealing, west London, launching a foul-mouthed tirade against them before urinating all over his cell.
Ryan admitted failing to provide a specimen and causing £120 of criminal damage to his prison cell and was fined £3,325.
