Adelaide talkback radio legend Jeremy Cordeaux charged with drink driving
A veteran radio and TV presenter will appear in court later this year after being charged with drink driving for the third time.
Jeremy Nicholas Cordeaux, 79, who has worked in radio and television for almost six decades, was stopped by police in the car park of the Feathers Hotel in Burnside in Adelaide’s east on November 11 last year.
Cordeaux, 79, was charged with driving while alcohol-impaired after reportedly measuring a blood-alcohol level of 0.108, more than twice the legal limit of 0.05, according to police documents filed in court.
The former FIVEaa presenter was not present at the Adelaide Magistrates Court hearing into the matter on Tuesday.
His lawyer Hugh Woods told the magistrate he would need more time to discuss the matter with his client, the Adelaide Advertiser reported.
“Your Honor, I request an adjournment to receive final instructions from my client,” Woods said.
Judge Christopher Smolicz postponed the case, with Cordeaux scheduled to appear in court in October.
Cordeaux was previously caught driving under the influence when he returned from a Christmas party in 2016.
Former radio and TV star Jeremy Cordeaux has been charged with drunk driving for the third time
He lost his driver’s license for six months, was fined $950 and ordered to pay $520 in court costs.
A conviction was also pronounced.
Cordeaux told The Advertiser the offence arose in 2016 when his wife drove to a Christmas party but was unable to drive home.
“I decided I was going to act chivalrously, and that was a very bad thing,” he said.
He was also caught for the same offense in 2019.
In 2021, he was disqualified from driving for a further six months after pleading guilty to driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.056 on Glen Osmond Rd.
Cordeaux was fired as a presenter at radio station FIVEaa in 2021 after he dismissed allegations of rape by Brittany Higgins during an on-air broadcast as “nothing more than a stupid little girl who got drunk.”
Cordeaux reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.108, more than twice the legal limit
Cordeaux was fired from Adelaide radio station over comments he made about Brittany Higgins and her rape allegations
“I wonder why the Prime Minister (Scott Morrison) doesn’t call it what it is: a stupid girl who got drunk,” Cordeaux said.
FiveAA breakfast presenter David Penberthy later announced that Cordeaux’s contract had been ‘terminated’.
In a statement read out on radio, Penberthy apologised to Ms Higgins and retracted his comments.
“Mr. Cordeaux’s employment has been terminated and FiveAA and Nova Entertainment have immediately taken more extensive measures to ensure this can never happen again,” he said.
“The views expressed by Jeremy Cordeaux do not reflect those of FiveAA and Nova Entertainment and we unequivocally retract these views.”
The resignation marked the end of a long career in television and radio in Sydney and Adelaide.