Soap star Adam Rickitt has been banned from the roads for drink driving.
The former Coronation Street actor was caught making a 600 metre trip home by car to grab a takeaway dinner.
Rickitt, 42, had been working late and drinking in a wine bar he runs - but was then called by his Good Morning Britain reporter wife Kate Fawcett to collect the meal she ordered.
Police stopped his Skoda Yeti car on August 22 as he collected the food from near his wine, gin and craft beer bar, Dexter and Jones, in Knutsford, Cheshire.
Traffic officers breathalysed him and tests found he was more than twice the alcohol limit having earlier drunk two single gins and a 65% rum shot whilst at work.
Tests later showed Rickitt had 80 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The alcohol limit is 35mg.
At Stockport magistrates court, Rickitt, from Knutsford, admitted drink driving and was banned from driving for 17 months.
Prosecutor Lucy Bridge said: ''A PC and PCSO on uniformed duty become aware of the green Skoda with its headlights not illuminated.
''The officer approached the driver and explained he had been seen to be driving with no lights on. He was invited to sit in the police vehicle and was asked if he's consumed any alcohol and he’s responded two single gins.
''He was asked what time his last drank was and he responded: 'two minutes ago.' There was then a 15-minute wait for the test and during this wait, he said: "I know I will probably be over the limit I had a 65% rum shot prior to driving."
In mitigation defence lawyer Victoria Thompson said Rickitt was "deeply ashamed" and that "work has all but dried up for him" following his soap exit and the impact of coronavirus on his business.
She said: ''He is deeply ashamed to be appearing before the courts and is not someone who’s whatsoever been in trouble. He's found the whole process very upsetting and takes full responsibility for his actions.
''He says he had spoken to a number of different solicitors who have offered him various ways to try avoid this conviction and we all know those firms but that was not something he wanted to do and he wanted to take full responsibility.
''He knows he was in the wrong and is not somebody who ever thought would be appearing before the courts. He owns a bar and had had a difficult day he's put most of his savings and spent some time getting it up and running only for COVID to hit and caused a strain but he has benefited from some of the governments help.
''He is also known as he's an actor but that work ended for him in March and there is no acting work at the moment because of the situation with COVID.
"That work has all but dried up for him and he is relying solely on his bar to keep him afloat.
''He's only receiving £1,000 a month a modest income and anything he does have is going back into the bar. He offers a takeaway service so he's doing everything he can to work on that for him and his family.''
Miss Thompson added: ''On that particular day, he has gone to the bar quite early and gone for the morning to start on online orders. He worked all through the day and finished work and met some friends that had come to the bar and had a couple of drinks.
''His original intention was for him to walk from work to his home address as it's 600 metres away and that had always been the plan to walk in that evening.
"He had ended up driving to work because he had a delivery to bring those in and that’s why he had the car on that day.
''While at the bar he'd finished work and had a few drinks and a member of staff had come to him and said one of the pumps had stopped working so he's gone to try to fix the problem.
"It is a small business and he's trying to keep it going at the moment.
''Over the next few hours he spent desperately trying to fix the pump not successfully and he then sent his wife home to feed the dogs and says he will try to fix this. His wife knew he wouldn't be happy until he fixed that.
''They had planned to have dinner that evening and always planed they were going to walk home together cook dinner and have a pleasant evening but it's not how it played out.
"A customer bought him a drink after seeing how stressed out and it was a 65% rum shot but at that stage, he didn't feel under the influence.
''His wife then contacted him and said you need to leave this now and that she had ordered a takeaway and 'you will have dinner.'
''The car had automatic lights that turn on but it had been at the garage and he had never had to use the manual function of the lights and the garage had switched off the lights, so when he set off he hadn't realised that was switched off.
"That is what drew the police to him. There is no suggestion of bad driving given its only 381 metres from the bar to were he was collecting the food.
''He has gone to get a takeaway as his wife had asked him to pick it up. His lights were not turned on and he's not realised because it’s such a well lit area and that’s the reason that attention was drawn with the police.
''He made a very foolish decision to drive and not walk and its s one he will forever regret because what's transpired and the position he finds himself in today.
It was a split second decision and one he will forever regret, had he just walked that short distance.''
She said Rickitt suffered from a mobility condition which meant he should not travel on public transport as he has a low immune system.
In addition to his ban, Rickitt was also fined £230 and ordered to pay £119 in costs and surcharges.
JP Paul Dunn told him: ''We have taken into account how remorseful you are over this unfortunate incident but you made the wrong decision on this occasion when you could have walked.
"But I don’t need to tell you that do I? We are where we are.''
