Foyle’s War star Honeysuckle Weeks tells court she was forced to drink drive to flee ‘unwelcome’ sexual encounter

Honeysuckle Weeks, the actor best known for her role in ITV series Foyle’s War, has appeared in court to face charges of drink-driving, pleading guilty to the offence – but revealing that she drove under the influence of alcohol in order to avoid an unwanted sexual encounter.

Having been caught by an off-duty policeman in November 2022 after reversing into a parked car, Honeysuckle was found to be over twice the legal drink-drive limit, according to The Telegraph.

The prosecutor said: “On Monday 28 November ast year at approximately 7.20pm, the defendant was driving her vehicle in Arundel when she was seen to reverse into a parked car on the street. 

“The defendant drove off from the scene before returning 15 seconds later. The vehicle was stopped and the police officer realised the driver was drunk.”

Honeysuckle told the court that her reasons for doing so were to avoid an unwanted sexual encounter with a friend and his lover, after he invited her to stay following the evening out in West Sussex.

“I was expecting to stay the night in a friend’s house in Arundel but the man in question invited his lover to the property and I was in danger of being coerced into sexual actions with them which I found extremely unwelcome,” she said.

Honeysuckle Weeks asked for leniency in her sentence, explaining that she needed her car in order to take her son to school every day, but she was banned for driving for 20 months and given a fine for the offence. She made no further comment as she left the court.

The actor, who happens to be the older sister of Perdita Weeks, star of Magnum P.I and The Tudors, appeared in all eight series of Foyle’s War, as Samantha Stewart, between 2002 and 2015, and has also starred in the likes of Midsummer Murders and Death In Paradise.