Project revealed as Alan Partridge creator gets out of a driving ban

Steve Coogan has announced that he’s reuniting with Rob Brydon for a fifth series of The Trip.

But the news was not announced in the entertainment press – but in court when he was trying to escape a driving ban for speeding at 97mph.

The Alan Partridge star, was caught speeding on the M6 while driving a Range Rover in July 2024. He already has six penalty points on his licence, and argued he should not be banned so he could drive while filming a new series of The Trip in June.

The news comes as a surprise as it was widely thought the series had ended with the  pair’s trip to Greece- in 2020.

In a letter to Birmingham magistrates, Coogan said driving was a ‘central component’ the show – and if it couldn’t be made the crew would be out of work and ‘face financial hardship’.

He asked the magistrate to dock a point from his penalties, leaving him with five instead of six, meaning he would fall just short of a six-month ban.

That was agreed, and he as also fined £2,500, given a £1,000 surcharge, and forced to pay £90 in costs.

It is not the first time he has cited work commitments to escape a ban. In August 2019, after being caught driving at 36mph in a 30mph zone near his East Sussex home, he again said a ban would cause  ‘hardship’  for people working on an Alan Partridge travelogue.

‘It’s an artistic thing that he drives and that defines his character. You couldn’t put him on a train because that’s not who he is, he said.

In a podcast released this week, Coogan spoke about how he and Brydon would ‘push each other’s buttons’ when filming The Trip.

It was not revealed where the new series will be set.

Published: 6 Feb 2025