Downton Abbey star Brendan Coyle has been banned from driving for the next four years after an alcohol-fueled overseas flight led to a DUI arrest just one day after completing rehab.
Coyle, who played valet John Bates on the show, was flying back on Jan. 1 to the U.K. from Thailand, where he had spent a month being treated at a luxury inpatient rehab center. Unfortunately, the treatment did not appear to be successful. His attorney, Steven Dyble, acknowledged that “the flight home was quite lively” and that all progress made in treating Coyle’s alcoholism was lost on the trip home.
The 52-year-old was then pulled over by police in Norfolk after driving his car back from the airport and recording a breathalyzer result nearly three times over the legal limit. It was his second drunk-driving conviction, having previously been arrested in 2011. Coyle was given a 50-month driving ban and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. King’s Lynn magistrates also gave him a 12-month community order with 15 days of rehabilitation activity.
Dyble confirmed during the hearing that Coyle has a “significant” alcohol problem, which the actor is now addressing by attending AA meetings. Probation officer Sharon Cooper also noted that Coyle had referred himself to as a recovering alcoholic for the last four to five years, but has taken the next two months off work to focus on his sobriety. She told the court that “there is a high level of remorse and a lot of relief that he did not hurt any other road users or himself.”
The actor has been making rounds in the tabloids in recent months over alleged incidents involving his drinking. It was reported last month that he was sent home by Downton Abbey producers after showing up to work hungover and struggling to read his lines. An anonymous source told The Mirror that Coyle “had one or two heavy nights out and it had a knock-on effect when it came time to him having to step into character…in the end, it just wasn’t appropriate for him to film on a couple of occasions.”
