EastEnders star Shane Richie banned from driving ahead of trial
Shane Richie has received a driving ban months after drink driving allegation
EastEnders star Shane Richie has been banned from getting behind the wheel for six months after admitting a speeding offence, ahead of a separate trial over an alleged drink-driving incident.
The 62-year-old actor, whose real name is Shane Roche, was caught driving a Ford at 35mph in a 30mph zone on Reigate Hill in Surrey on 15th March.
Richie, best known to soap fans as Alfie Moon, pleaded guilty to the speeding offence in writing, with the case dealt with privately under the Single Justice Procedure.
Court records show he received the six-month driving ban on 23th September. Guildford Magistrates’ Court also fined him £500 and ordered him to pay £320 in costs and a surcharge.
In a written note submitted to the court, Richie apologised for speeding but described the pressure he said he had been facing from photographers while going through a ‘very public divorce’.
The actor claimed members of the tabloid press had regularly followed him from his workplace in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, where EastEnders is filmed.
He said: ‘Over the past several months I’ve been followed from my place of work in Borehamwood (Hertfordshire) where I film sometimes six days a week by our British tabloid press…. to my home.’
Richie also described photographers following him into Reigate and while he went to the supermarket.
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the speeding offence, he added: ‘It’s no secret now that I’m going through a very public divorce and for the last several months the British press have suspected this and have been constantly baiting me and almost always looking for a reaction from me to sell their newspapers.’
The soap star stressed that he was not attempting to use the situation as justification for breaking the speed limit.
He told the court: ‘This is not an excuse for going five miles over the limit, but just a reason why I may have sped up on that particular road.’
Reigate Hill is a steep road leading towards and away from the nearby M25 junction.
The driving ban comes as Richie is also facing separate legal proceedings relating to an alleged drink-driving offence in Essex.
The case concerns an incident at a petrol station in Harlow on 29th July. Richie is accused of providing a breath sample containing 65mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.
He appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court in September in connection with that allegation and has denied the offence. His trial is scheduled to take place on 17th November 2027.
Richie has been a familiar face on British television for decades and made his EastEnders debut as Alfie Moon in 2002.
Away from Albert Square, he has presented several game shows and appeared in numerous pantomimes. He also took part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2020, finishing the series in fourth place.
The speeding matter is separate from the alleged drink-driving offence, which remains before the courts.
