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.

He was speeding while rushing home to take his “unwell cat to the vet” at the time of the offence.

Hollywood was officially clocked driving at 96mph, but he is thought to have reached speeds of up to 105mph.

The Great British Bake Off judge was a “bully” to other motorists on the M25 by tailgating them at high speeds on January 9, Worthing Magistrates’ Court has heard.

Peter Csemiczky, a partner at Hickman and Rose Solicitors, said: “Mr Hollywood accepts he was driving too fast.

“He was rushing home to get his unwell cat to the vet.

“[Hollywood] understands this is no excuse and apologises for his actions.

“He understands and accepts that he will be punished.”

PC Alexander McAlpine of Surrey Police, who was behind Paul’s vehicle in an unmarked police car at the time of the offence, said Hollywood would “repeatedly ‘bully’ other vehicles out of its way, through use of unsafe tailgating”.

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He said: “Whenever there was a vehicle ahead, the driver would close up to a follow distance of less than five metres which was wholly inappropriate for the conditions and speed.

“Once a vehicle moved out of the way having been tailgated until they did so, the driver would then heavily accelerate and travel well in excess of the limit until they reached the next vehicle ahead on the road, at which point they would repeat the process, to try and ‘push’ any traffic that was in front of them out of the lane, even if they were legitimately overtaking traffic travelling slower in lane three.”

PC McAlpine said he clocked Hollywood’s speed at a “peak” of around 105mph after he had moved onto the M26.

He also said the baker’s “general road speed remained above 90mph for an extended period of time.”

The officer said: “The driver stated that the reason for their urgency and driving behaviour was transporting an unwell cat.”

Mr Hollywood pleaded guilty to speeding and was given five penalty points, a £293 fine, £120 in costs, and a £117 victim surcharge.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention.

Following legal intervention, the allegation was withdrawn.

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Paul once claimed his former fellow Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry hit him with her handbag because he was driving too fast.

Speaking on Bake Off spin-off show Extra Slice, he said: “I probably drive a little bit too quick.

“It scares a few people.

“I took Mary in a car once and she was hitting me with her handbag.”

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