Former EastEnders actor Ricky Groves had a brush with the law driving to Chippenham, which is why he was late arriving to switch on the Christmas lights on Friday.

He was caught chatting on his mobile phone on the outskirts of the town.

Police pulled him over and he was given a £60 fixed penalty and three points on his licence.

It meant the actor, who is due to play the part of villain Abanazar in the pantomime Aladdin at the Theatre Royal in Bath turned up behind schedul for the big event, which attracted hundreds of fans.

When quizzed about what had held him up the actor, who played Gary Hobbs in the TV soap, admitted being stopped by police.

But when questioned about the circumstances, he said he was unable to disclose details about the incident. Police confirmed that a 42-year-old man received a fixed penalty ticket and three points on his licence for speaking on a mobile phone while driving near the High Street at about 6pm.

The town mayor Sandra Oakes, who was at the light switch-on, and enjoyed a dance with Mr Groves said: “At the end of the day everyone is going somewhere and if you get caught breaking the law, you break the law. We can all put up excuses.

“It is a personal matter.”

The Strictly Come Dancing star and actor arrived in Chippenham in good spirits, despite the incident, just after 6pm to switch on the lights.

Mr Groves was expected on stage by promoters at about 5.45pm. But the phone chat resulted in him turning up 15 minutes late to his first gig in the town.

The EastEnder, who also featured on Celebrity Coach Trip, is on stage at the pantomime at The Theatre Royal, Bath, from December 16.

The production, which also stars TV presenter Gemma Hunt, runs until January 23.

His appearance in Chippenham was greeted by cheering crowds. Among them was a huge number of teenage girls who had turned up specially to see the actor.

He spent a lot of time signing autographs and chatting to people who managed to get close to the area where he performed the switch-on.