Mayowa Joshua, of Berkeley Avenue, Romford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, May 7.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without third party insurance.

The court heard the offences took place in a Mercedes on the M40 between junctions 11 for Banbury and 10 for Ardley.

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Oxford Crown Court (Image: Contributed and Oxford Mail)

Alexandra Bushell, prosecuting, told the court Joshua was in a single vehicle crash when he hit the central reservation.

The car rolled multiple times before coming to a stop, and there were no other cars involved.

The court heard the car belonged to Joshua’s female passenger.

Neither had any injuries, and when police attended, Joshua claimed the car had been driven by the woman.

Officers told him the implications of lying, and he then admitted he was the one who had been driving.

Ms Bushell told the court that Joshua had previous offences for driving without insurance and a licence in the same car, committed just three weeks before.

Judge Michael Roques said: “You lied to police about who was driving.

“You need to be very careful indeed. You made a sensible decision to admit it was you, which is what is keeping you out of prison.”

Joshua was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work within 12 months and he was banned from the road for 12 months and must pass an extended retest.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £150.

Set in Wales, the first series of Death Valley charmed audiences, with its launch achieving the largest UK overnight audience for a new scripted show in five years.

The series averaged a strong 4.6 million across 28-days.

On BBC One Wales, it was the biggest comedy so far this year, averaging 400,000 viewers.

Described as a ‘quirky whodunit’ by fans online, Gwyneth Keyworth and Timothy Spall star in the comedic murder-mystery series, playing the unlikely partnership of detective Janie Mallowan and actor John Chapel, respectively.

Chapel was once her idol as a TV detective named Caesar.

The series was a runaway hit on BBC One and iPlayer last year, besting David Mitchell’s Ludwig in overnight ratings to become the broadcaster’s biggest comedy launch in five years.

When is Death Valley returning to our screens?

Death Valley season 2 now confirmed to premiere on Sunday 17 May at 8:15pm on BBC One.

Viewers will also be able to binge the box set on iPlayer from that same date.

‘The crime rate in Wales is about to skyrocket again’

At the time of recommissioning for a second season, Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy Commissioning, said: “The trouble with recommissioning Death Valley is it means the crime rate in Wales is about to skyrocket again.

Just watching this in the United States, what a fantastic show! Timothy Spall is wonderful in everything he does but Gwynth Keyworth is a revelation! Hope they are many more to come.

— Noddy (@keishti) October 11, 2025

“But if that’s the price we pay for more brilliant performances from Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth, and more scripts from Paul Doolan, then so be it.

“Delighted to bring the team back for more murder and mischief.”

Timothy Spall said: “I’m delighted that the show has been received so well, and audiences have embraced the warm and eccentric nature of John and Janie’s partnership.

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“I’m really looking forward to revisiting this unlikely duo with the brilliant Gwyneth Keyworth as they take on more crime-solving escapades in Wales.”

Gwyneth Keyworth says: “I’m so chuffed Janie and John get to bicker their way through some more deadly crime scenes.

“Thank you so much to everyone who watched and supported the show! I can’t wait to be back ‘corpsing’ with Timothy and the gang for series two!”

Are you looking forward to its return? Let us know in the comments

The new feature, Deliveroo Reservations, aims to become a one-stop shop for both dining in and ordering food to go.

The service will initially launch in London on Thursday and features a range of top restaurants, including Dishoom, Hide, Dove, Barrafina, Kricket, and Kolae.

The move is part of ambitions from Deliveroo to expand beyond its core takeaway delivery offer in the UK in order to help drive its growth.

Deliveroo launches a brand new service

Suzy McClintock, vice president for consumer and new verticals at Deliveroo, said: “This launch is about supporting restaurants to grow in new ways.

“Whether it’s a Deliveroo order or a reservation in store, we want to drive discovery, demand, and revenue across every channel.

“By fully integrating SevenRooms into the Deliveroo app, we’re giving restaurants access to new customers and giving diners an easier way to discover and book some of London’s best tables – all in one place.”

Deliveroo will bring the feature across the UK later this year.

The company was acquired by US-based DoorDash last year for £2.9 billion.

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DoorDash previously introduced a similar feature in the US and also acquired restaurant booking platform SevenRooms for about £900 million.

Deliveroo said it will use technology from SevenRooms in its platform.

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Joel Montaniel, vice president and co-founder of SevenRooms, said: “Restaurants thrive on the relationships they build with their guests.

“Bringing reservations into the Deliveroo app gives London restaurants a new way to connect with diners and grow, while making it easy for consumers to discover and book great restaurants.”

Will you be using the new Deliveroo service? Let us know in the comments.