Mark Lamarr Handed Six-month Driving Ban

Former TV host had argued disqualification would cause 'exceptional hardship'

Mark Lamarr (centre), with Sean Hugh and Phil Jupitus, team captains on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Picture: BBC

The former host of comedy pop quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks host has been banned from driving for six months after Willesden Magistrates’ Court rejected his claim that disqualification would cause him “exceptional hardship”.

The 59-year-old, who lives at the northern end of Chiswick, admitted driving at 46mph in a 40mph zone in Twickenham at around 6.30am in June last year. The offence, committed while he was driving a 2019 Volvo XC60, added three penalty points to the nine already on his licence from three previous speeding offences between August 2023 and May 2025.

The court imposed a six-month ban, fined him £236 and ordered him to pay a surcharge and prosecution costs.

According to a report from the BBC, Mr Lamarr argued that losing his licence would have a severe impact on his daily life, telling the court he suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. On bad days, he said, using a bus stop would be “out of the question” and walking to a railway station could be “quite exhausting”. He described periods where he has to “lie down for a day or two” and is unable to walk for weeks.

He also said he relies on his car to transport his young daughter and to visit his mother, who has arthritis. In addition, he told magistrates he is “effectively retired” from television and radio work and now deals records, using his car to travel to find stock.

Despite accepting that Mr. Lamarr would experience hardship, chair of the bench Margaret Mansi ruled that it did not meet the legal threshold for “exceptional hardship”, which is required to avoid a mandatory ban for repeat speeding offences.

Explaining the June incident, he told the court: “It was very early in the morning, there wasn’t anybody around. Sometimes when there’s no other traffic around at all your mind isn’t quite as concentrated on the few miles an hour of the speed limit you are exceeding.”

Mark Lamarr became a familiar face in the 1990s through programmes such as The Word, The Big Breakfast and Shooting Stars. He hosted Never Mind the Buzzcocks from 1996 to 2005 and later presented on BBC Radio 2.