Andrew O’Keefe is arrested over another incident after being warned ‘the next step is jail’

EXCLUSIVE

Off-the-rails game show host Andrew O’Keefe has been arrested again for drug driving, three months after being warned he was one false step away from jail.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal O’Keefe will appear in Waverley Local Court in Sydney’s eastern suburbs later this month after being charged for a second time with driving with an illegal drug in his system.

The former Deal or No Deal presenter pleaded guilty in October to breaching an arrest warrant and possession of a prohibited drug.

In July, O’Keefe confronted a man at a Point Piper property he was not allowed to enter, and he was later arrested following a traffic stop.

He was released on bail but was arrested again at Rose Bay police station in September when police found crystal methamphetamine in his car during a search.

A day earlier, O’Keefe had overdosed on heroin at a party and had to be revived by paramedics.

During his sentencing at Waverley Local Court in October, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge assured the TV star he watched behind bars that he was reoffending.

“You have been given many opportunities to address your drug use,” Ms Milledge told O’Keefe.

“I can assure you that the next step is prison. I don’t just say that, I absolutely mean it.

“It’s become a state where the court would think you just can’t be rehabilitated.”

Mrs Milledge told O’Keefe, 53, that his life had “just gone completely off the rails” and that it was his responsibility to fix the problem.

“I know that domestic violence is a factor in your offending and that is terrible, really terrible,” she said.

“You got caught in the grip of something terrible and the wheels fell off.”

The magistrate said she remembered telling O’Keefe: “God help you” during an earlier court appearance.

“Personally, I’m disappointed that you are where you are and that you haven’t been able to get back on your feet,” she said.

“I just wish you could get back into a position where you can do something for the community again.”

O’Keefe will appear in Waverley Local Court in Sydney’s eastern suburbs later this month after being charged for a second time with driving with an illegal drug in his system. Above, O’Keefe is seen during a previous arrest

Ms Milledge sentenced O’Keefe to a 30-month community corrections order in relation to the AVO breach, which required him to attend rehab.

He was also fined $2,000 and banned from driving for three months for drug use.

At the time, O’Keefe’s lawyer told Ms Milledge: “This, Your Honor, is what we say is the final intersection.”

O’Keefe has waged a public battle against drug addiction and has been in and out of rehabilitation centers in recent years.

He was found guilty of domestic violence and drug offenses in January after a “humiliating” attack on a woman who cannot be named.

The drug conviction was later quashed, but O’Keefe lost an appeal against the assault convictions in August.

In December 2023 he escaped conviction after pleading guilty at Downing Center Local Court to driving through Point Piper with drugs in his system earlier that year.

O’Keefe had been arrested in January while behind the wheel of a Mercedes C200 sedan and tested positive for methamphetamine.

A second oral fluid sample delivered to Waverley police station tested negative but was later deemed positive after further analysis.

During sentencing, Magistrate Miranda Moody said O’Keefe had since returned negative drug screens and was being treated by a psychiatrist and psychologist.

“To his credit, he has clearly had some problems with illicit drug use and I have been provided with material regarding his drug use or lack thereof,” Ms Moody said.

‘Nothing has been seen for a while. I also received a report from a psychologist and a psychiatrist. He is undergoing treatment.

“Given the enormous amount of work Mr. O’Keefe is doing in relation to his drug and health problems, I am prepared to impose no conviction.”

Ms Moody sentenced O’Keefe to a 12-month community order.

O’Keefe will make his first court appearance on January 20 for his latest drink-driving charge.