Dawn French has been banned from driving for six months after committing her fourth speeding offense in three years.
The 68-year-old comedian gained 12 points on her driving license after she was caught driving her £31,000 Mini Clubman Cooper S Sport at 35mph in a 30mph zone in Plymouth, Devon.
Frans, best known for playing Geraldine Granger in The Vicar of Dibley and for her comic double act with Jennifer Saundersalready had nine penalty points on her driving license at the time, Plymouth Magistrates’ Court heard.
The TV star did not attend the hearing in person, but her lawyer, Chris Spencer, told the court she had pleaded guilty online and regretted the offence.
He said: ‘It is a misjudgment on her part to which she has already pleaded guilty online. She expresses her remorse.’
Mr Spencer added that French accepted she would now be disqualified from driving.
District Judge Stuart Smith subsequently imposed a six-month ban.
The judge said the offense fell into ‘the lowest subcategory of the speed guidelines’, carrying a band A fine and three penalty points.
Dawn French, 68, (pictured) has been banned from driving for six months after her fourth speeding offense in three years
She was caught driving 58km/h in a 50km/h zone in Plymouth and already had nine penalty points on her driving licence. French is depicted as the Vicar of Dibley
He added: ‘Three penalty points added to the nine will therefore lead to disqualification.’
French was also ordered to pay a £600 fine, a £240 victim surcharge and £90 costs after the court heard she earns more than £2,000 a week.
Judge Smith initially gave her 14 days to pay, but extended the deadline to 21 days after a request from Mr Spencer.
The latest violation is the fourth speeding incident involving French people in three years. She was previously caught speeding in June 2025, July 2024 and June 2023.
French recently revealed she lost 7.5st after increasing her walking.
French’s best-selling memoir Dear Fatty was published in 2008.
In 2009, French and Saunders were awarded the Bafta Fellowship in recognition of their outstanding contribution to television.
The Holyhead-born star previously joked that she is ‘the most excellent driver you will ever meet and that is a fact’.
However, in a 2016 interview, she admitted that she once collected penalty points in both Devon and Somerset on the same night after speeding through roadworks on the county border while driving her Range Rover Sport.
