Helen Flanagan slapped with six-month driving ban and fine

Helen Flanagan has been slapped with a six-month driving ban and a £2,000 fine.

The 34-year-old actress - who was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £800 and prosecution costs worth £110 - appeared at Wirral Magistrates' Court on Wednesday (15.01.25) after she claimed her ex-footballer boyfriend Robbie Talbot was behind the wheel, after her Audi Q7 was clocked speeding on two occasions in 16 days.

The JPs heard on July 10 at around 1.16pm that Flanagan's motor was speeding at 42mph in a 30mph zone.

Then 16 days later at 11.16am, the vehicle travelled at 51mph in a 40mph zone near junction six of the M57.

After being asked about receiving the intended notices of prosecution - which were not subsequently responded to, despite Robbie claiming he had proof that he did respond, but the police have no such documentation - Helen admitted: "I was really, really angry. I said you need to reply, this is really important.

"I very stupidly and naively thought it was acceptable for my boyfriend to reply and explain to the police that it was him who was driving.

"It wasn’t me. My boyfriend was the one that was driving, it wasn’t me.”

The former 'Coronation Street' star - who lives in a remote part of the country with her kids Matilda, nine, Delilah, six, and Charlie, three, whom she has with ex-Bristol Rovers player fiance Scott Sinclair - also argued that without a licence, she would find it difficult to drop the kids off to after-school activities and to see their dad.

She claimed: "I’m a single mum, I live on my own. I live in the middle of the Moors. There’s no shop nearby. I think it’s a 10-minute drive. It is very remote. I live there with my three children."

Helen - who already had six points on her licence and said a ban would cause "exceptional hardship" - also claimed that she is "really struggling at the moment financially", and that taking taxis would be "very expensive".

"I would invite you to look at this case on the cold, hard facts of who is in front of you and I would invite you to find that exceptional hardship is a real possibility.”

Sentencing, Chairman David Holley said: "We have listened carefully to everything said today, in particular, we take into account the arguments in relation to your three children, the impact your children’s father would suffer, your current partner and the impact a ban would have on your mental health.

“It is a high bar to pass and it is inevitable that every disqualification comes with an element of hardship.

"We are not satisfied that you or those around you would suffer exceptional hardship if you were disqualified from driving.”

Helen asked if she could have some time to pay the fine, costs and surcharge, and the actress asked if she could make repayments of £1,000 per month.