Alan Carr’s husband walks free as drink-driving sentence is quashed

Paul Drayton court case
Alan Carr's husband Paul Drayton arrives at Brighton and Hove Magistrates Court
PA
Sami Quadri28 January 2022

Alan Carr’s husband Paul Drayton has walked free from court following two “harrowing” nights in custody after winning his appeal against a prison sentence for drink-driving.

The 50-year-old was jailed on Wednesday over having an “off the scale” alcohol level and reversing into a police car.

Drayton had been handed a 14-week sentence and banned from driving for three years.

However, a judge ruled on Friday that he should be given the opportunity to turn his life around and suspended his sentence.

Paul Drayton and his husband, comedian Alan Carr, recently split up after 13 years together (Jacob King/PA)
PA Wire

It comes days after Drayton, who has battled alcoholism, announced his split from 45-year-old Carr.

The couple, who have been together for 13 years, were married by Adele in her Los Angeles garden in 2018.

Drayton broke down in tears as the decision was announced.

He wore a blue suit to Brighton Crown Court as his barrister sought to have him released from custody.

John Dye, representing Drayton, told the court: “This is a very serious drink-driving offence.

“It crosses the custody threshold. I think to say anything other than that would be absurd.”

But he emphasized Drayton’s previous good character, mental health struggles and problems with alcohol.

At the mention of his two nights in prison since being jailed on Wednesday, Drayton broke down in silent tears in the dock.

Judge Shani Barnes responded: “I am sure they have been harrowing.”

After briefly retiring to discuss the case with her magistrate colleague, she returned to the courtroom and told Drayton that had led an “exemplary life”.

Addressing the question of whether the sentence could be suspended, she said the answer was “quite clearly… yes”.

“Yes, of course it is right that we give you an opportunity to make amends and turn your life around.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT