Dame Esther Rantzen, 80, has revealed she “escaped” being fined and having points on her driving licence by going on a speed awareness course. The journalist opened up about the incident, which saw her “break the law” when she drove over the speed limit, during an interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain today.
The That’s Life! host recalled: “When I broke the law, you see, it is a confessional for me.
“I drove at 39 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour district and I was told that I could escape being fined and having points on my license if I went on a speed awareness course.
“And it was really good.”
Detailing what she learnt from the course, Esther admitted the experience “changed her behaviour”.
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“Members of my family work in the NHS, I have friends being looked after in care homes, I know how precious that protection is.”
Esther also said she feels “very privileged” to have an extra layer of protection with the first vaccine, which many are yet to have.
She explained: “I have self-isolated since last March, except seeing my family in the summer, when we had different rules.
“The work I do, I can do through the internet, I’m in a very privileged position and I don’t want the extra privilege of a second jab.”
The UK’s chief medical officers say the first dose offers “substantial” protection, and schedules have been altered so more people can have a first jab.
Rather than providing the required two doses in as short a time as possible, the second dose of both the Oxford/AstraZeneca and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines will now be given within 12 weeks of the first.
Dame Esther was due for her second dose on January 13, but it was postponed this week.
The British Society for Immunology said that while it would prefer that the original dosing schedules were followed, it accepted the reasoning behind the decision.