Ant McPartlin spotted back behind the wheel for first time since drink-drive ban

Ant McPartlin as he left Wimbledon Magistrates Court on April 16, 2018
Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
Ella Wills19 July 2019
The Weekender

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Ant McPartlin has been spotted behind the wheel for the first time 15 months after his drink-driving arrest and stint in rehab.

The TV presenter was arrested for drink-driving in March 2018 and a month later fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.

He was twice the legal limit when he was involved in a collision with two other cars while driving his Mini in Richmond.

However McPartlin has had five months cut off his sentence after completing a rehabilitation course, according to reports.

The 43-year-old was pictured taking his girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett for a drive in a silver Range Rover in west London this week.

McPartlin with Anne-Marie Corbett at the Wimbledon Championships earlier this month
PA

Friends close to the Britain's Got Talent star have said he's "delighted" to be back on the road.

A source told The Sun: "It hasn’t diminished the impact of everything which has happened, and remains fresh in his mind.

“It’s been a dreadful time and he has many regrets, but he’s very pleased to be getting back to normality too.

“The course is not something unique to him or his celeb status. Anyone could have done the same. It usually leads to a ban being reduced by a quarter."

The presenter's outing comes just over a year after he was banned from the road after his drink-driving conviction.

He was arrested on March 18, 2018 following the crash on Lower Richmond Road.

He had failed a roadside breathalyser test after the collision between the Mini he was driving and two other cars.

The Metropolitan Police previously confirmed that a number of individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries, and a child passenger from one of the cars was taken to hospital to be checked as a precaution.

At the time McPartlin said he was "truly sorry" for the incident.

He stepped down from his TV commitments, before returning to work alongside Declan Donnelly in January to film Britain's Got Talent.

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