Loose Women star Linda Robson confessed “I’m an idiot” and posed for a smiling roadside photo with a police officer after being caught out over a car insurance blunder.
The Birds of a Feather actress, 65, was pulled over near to Angel Tube station in north London in February after police suspicions were raised.
A check revealed Robson’s car insurance had run out and she had not renewed the protection, putting her on the wrong side of the law.
Robson was taken to court over the mistake and was handed a £923 fine, together with six penalty points on her licence, £100 in costs and a £369 victim surcharge.
PC Glenn Barnes, who was one of the Met Police officers who carried out the car stop on February 2, provided a picture of Robson to the court, showing her smiling with two thumbs up at the roadside.
When told she was being reported for a possible prosecution, Robson replied “I’m an idiot”, the police officer said in his statement.
Robson starred alongside Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph in the hugely popular BBC comedy Birds of a Feather between 1989 and 1998.
She was a contestant on I’m a Celebrity….Get Me Out of Here in 2012, and is now a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Robson married Mark Dunford in 1990 and they have two children together. She was charged in court earlier this month under her full married name, Linda Robson Dunford, and pleaded guilty through the Single Justice Procedure, telling Bromley magistrates court in a written statement: “I had not received notification that my insurance had run out so I was unaware I was driving without insurance and paid it straight away while roadside with the officers.”
PC Barnes said he and a colleague were driving along Upper Street in Islington at around 5.15pm when they spotted Robson’s blue Volkswagen Polo.
“I had reason to stop the vehicle where I spoke with the driver”, he said.
“An enquiry on the police national computer revealed that no insurance was shown as being held for this vehicle to be driven on public roads.
“I requested the driver to provide proof of insurance where they were unable to do so.
“Enquiries revealed insurance wasn’t held for the vehicle because she did not purchase it and as such was not insured.”
Court documents show a fixed penalty notice was sent to the TV star in February, shortly after the police stop, and a prosecution was launched when the fine went unpaid.
Robson, who lives in Islington, pleaded guilty in writing on August 9 to using a motor vehicle on a road without third party insurance.
She has been given 28 days to settle the court bill totalling £1,392.
