Pop star Will Young has been slapped with a fine after being caught driving while using his mobile phone.
The pop star, 46, who found fame after winning the first ever Pop Idol in 2002, pleaded guilty at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on September 30.
He was ordered to pay £90 to Wilshire Police, a surcharge of £266 and was also fined £66.
It’s not the first time Mr Young has been in the courts over his driving.
The singer was banned from driving for six months in 2018 after he smashed his Mercedes into a parked car, narrowly missing its driver.
He was judged to have driven into a lay-by on the A68 at ‘excessive speed’, causing another driver to jump to safety just in time.
Mr Young was also fined £600 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court following this previous accident.
The court was told in 2018 that the singer was convicted of drink driving 20 years prior while he was a student at Oxford and that he also had 11 points on his licence.
Pop star Will Young has been slapped with a fine after being caught driving while using his mobile phone
Five penalty points were added on, resulting in the ban.
Mr Young shot to fame after winning the inaugural Pop Idol 23 years ago, edging the heavily-backed Gareth Gates in a memorable final.
Just two weeks after this victory, he landed the fastest selling debut single in the UK with his double A-side entry, Anything Is Possible and Evergreen.
His latest driving woes come after Mr Young shared that his battle with crippling anxiety left him struggling to leave the house for days, as he detailed the moment he ‘suffered a panic attack while speaking to his postwoman’.
He previously shared that he had been diagnosed with complex PTSD, and admitted he has undergone a ‘lot of therapy’ to manage his demons.
Will shared that he had had ‘a difficult time’ with his emotions over the past few months, and in some instances would spend days lying in bed.
The star added that his anxiety can be ‘isolating’ at times, and while he’s sought solace in gardening, he has also relied on ‘thought-blocking’ to manage it as well as sharing his struggles with others.
He said: ‘I’ve been having a difficult time with my emotions, but I always think it’s really good to be transparent about it, so yeah I have been struggling, but I’m feeling like I can sort of come up for air now.
The singer rose to fame when he was crowned winner of Pop Idol’s first ever series in 2002, before landing the fastest selling debut single in the UK
‘I’ve found this really good person that sort of helps deal with stored trauma in the body, so that’s really helping.’
Speaking to longtime friends Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball on their Dig It podcast, Mr Young continued: ‘I think what’s really difficult for me, is that it presents as anxiety. So it doesn’t matter if I’m around, I mean I can get anxious around the post person, literally like ”why am I having a panic attack around the post person?”
‘But it does help, because last week I was doing something with dogs, and I love animals, so at least having a person helps get past that anxiety.’
He previously shared that for a time he was suffering panic attacks ’24 hours a day’, and in 2016, despite being diagnosed with PTSD, went against doctors’ advice by signing up for Strictly Come Dancing.
The star – who ended up withdrawing from the show – said on the How To Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast: ‘I wish I had experienced it when I wasn’t ill because I would’ve loved it!’
