DIY SOS host Nick Knowles has been banned from driving for six months and fined almost £1,500 for speeding and using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

The presenter and former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! contestant appeared before Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

He previously admitted exceeding 70mph in his Range Rover on the A417 Brockworth Bypass, while using his mobile phone, on January 28.

Knowles, 56, told magistrates that he had a hands-free kit in his car but was holding his phone due to a "dodgy power lead".

He received six points on his licence for the offence, which resulted in a driving ban as he already had six points on it.

The court heard he was driving at 85mph when he was caught by a police mobile speed camera.

Presiding justice Andrew Hill told Knowles, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, the ban would be enforced as it would not cause him "exceptional hardship".

Mr Hill told him: "We take into account that you have shown remorse.

"We will disqualify you from driving today and you will be disqualified from driving for six months.

"From this moment in time, you are not able to drive any motor vehicle in any public place."

Knowles asked: "I can drive home, right?"

Mr Hill replied: "No."

Knowles then told him: "I'm joking."

He was fined £666 for speeding and £666 for using his phone, with a victim surcharge of £66 and prosecution costs of £85.

Speaking after the case, Knowles said: "For me, this was a wake-up call and me putting my phone in the boot of my car now stops the temptation.

"The six-month ban was appropriate because to give anything else would be giving me special privilege."