Gladiator’s Barney Walsh hit with driving ban after breaking speed limit in Mercedes

Barney Walsh is known for hosting BBC Gladiators with his father as well as acting roles

BBC host Barney Walsh has been hit with a temporary driving ban after being caught speeding on a motorway.

Barney Walsh, 28, hosts BBC Gladiators with his father and has appeared in TV shows including Death in Paradise and Casualty.

Walsh, of Epping in Essex, was behind the wheel of his 2023 black Mercedes-Benz SUV when he was caught driving at 58mph in a 50mph stretch of the M4. The incident happened on October 27 last year in south Gloucestershire at junction 19 westbound, where a temporary maximum speed restriction was in place.

Daily Star reports Walsh was sentenced for the offence at Romford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (April 8). The showbiz star did not attend the court hearing due to “work commitments” that have seen him being “out of England at the moment”, his lawyer Gwyn Lewis told magistrates.

Mr Lewis, who had been instructed by Walsh to appear on his behalf, told the court his client had nine points on his licence, meaning a disqualification was “inevitable”.

He said: “I’m not instructed to resist the disqualification and he has been told he is not to drive from last night.”

Walsh previously pleaded guilty to one count of exceeding a temporary 50mph speed restriction on a motorway. Chairwoman of the magistrates’ bench Janis Sanders banned Walsh from driving for six months.

He was also ordered to pay a fixed penalty notice of £72, surcharge of £28 and prosecution costs of £85. Mr Lewis said Walsh is “in a position” to pay the fixed penalty notice within 28 days.

A minor speeding offence usually results in three penalty points. Motorists with 12 or more penalty points are typically banned from driving.

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