The Walking Dead star David Morrissey was banned from driving today after being caught speeding three times in a week.
The 61-year-old actor faced sentencing after being caught driving his £40,000 black Mini Countryman at 46mph in a 40mph area on the A406 in Willesden, North West London, at 5:41 am on August 2 of last year.
Just two days later, he clocked at 55mph and 48mph in 40mph zones on the A40 near Greenford on August 4 and 5, at 5.23am and 2.35am respectively.
Morrissey did not attend a short hearing at Willesden Magistrates’ Court today and was handed an £5,700 fine.
Prosecutor Maya Arputham said: ‘Morrissey should pay the full £1,500 costs for the trial last week included in the fine.’
This Bafta-nominated actor already had nine points on his license, and receiving an additional nine points resulted in an automatic six-month driving ban.
Hailing from Camden, North London, Morrissey initially denied the charges but was found guilty of three counts of exceeding the 40mph speed limit following a three-hour trial last week.
Representing the actor, Conall Bailie said: ‘There will be no issue in Morrissey paying the fine.
David Morrissey at The Sky Arts Awards at The Roundhouse in London in September 2024
Morrissey is best known for playing ‘The Governor’ in the FX series ‘The Walking Dead’
“However, the court costs involved are substantial. The trial took up less than three hours of court time and wasn’t particularly prolonged.”
District Judge Jack Walsh said: ‘The sum of £1,500 in court costs appears to me to be eminently reasonable.
‘I have found all three offences proved. He is convicted of all three offences. He did not have a clean driving record.
‘The case he put to court was entirely illegitimate, and he had a chance to come to court and give evidence.
“A defendant who compels the prosecution to meticulously focus on detailed proof for his case is likely to bear the full prosecution costs due to this approach.”
Morrissey, estimated to have a net worth of around £2.4 million, was married to Esther Freud, the daughter of painter Lucian Freud and great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, but the couple parted ways in 2020.
Morrissey was married to the daughter of painter Lucian Freud and great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Esther Freud (pictured in 2014), but they separated in 2020
Morrissey did not attend a short hearing at Willesden Magistrates’ Court today (file photo)
His debut role came when he was cast in the television series ‘One Summer’ in 1983 at the age of 18.
He then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre.
Morrissey is best known for playing ‘The Governor’ in the FX series ‘The Walking Dead’.
He was nominated for a Bafta for his role as Stephen Collins in the 2003 political thriller series, ‘State of Play’.
Other notable roles include Ripley Holden in ‘Blackpool’, Aulus Platius in the Sky TV show ‘Britannia,’ and the criminal taxi driver Vince McKee in BBC drama ‘The Driver’.
In 2022, he starred in the BBC crime series ‘Sherwood,’ which won a best drama series award in 2023.
Morrissey has also directed short films and the television dramas Sweet Revenge in 2001 and Passer By in 2004.
