Six-month driving ban for Emma Watson after speeding offense

Actress Emma Watson has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding in Oxford last year, according to reports. 

Watson, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, was driving a blue Audi at 38mph in a 30mph zone on the evening of July 31, 2024. The incident occurred while she already had nine penalty points on her licence, the court heard.

The 35-year-old did not attend the brief five-minute hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. She was ordered to pay a total of £1,044 in fines and costs.

Her lawyer, Mark Haslam, stated that Watson is currently studying for a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Oxford and is financially able to pay the fine.

Read: Four dead, several injured in overspeeding accident on Karachi’s Hawksbay Road

Watson rose to international fame in 2001 with the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

She starred in all eight films of the franchise, and later went on to appear in acclaimed roles in Beauty and the Beast, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Bling Ring.

In a separate case, fellow Harry Potter actress Zoë Wanamaker was also fined for speeding. Wanamaker, who portrayed flying instructor Madam Hooch in the first Harry Potter film, was caught exceeding the speed limit on the M4 near Newbury, Berkshire, on August 7, 2024.