Colin Salmon: EastEnders actor ‘grateful’ to avoid driving ban for speeding

Salmon, 64, appeared at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court in south-west London earlier this week.
He pleaded guilty to driving his Suzuki Wagon in excess of the 20mph limit in Acton, near his Shepherds Bush home, on 31 March last year.
The actor already had nine points for speeding in April 2023, running a red light in February 2025, and driving without due care and attention in April 2025.
On Tuesday, Salmon was fined £666, with £130 costs, ordered to pay a £266 victim surcharge and received three more penalty points, but avoided a driving ban.
Salmon is married to artist and illustrator Fiona Hawthorne, who previously revealed she was diagnosed with a rare lung condition, interstitial lung disease, which requires her to use an oxygen tank. She underwent a lung transplant in the US in 2024.
The couple’s daughter Sasha also fell ill with lymphoma, a cancer that affects the blood cells, in 2019.
They also have a high-functioning autistic son, and Salmon himself underwent hip replacement surgery last year.
Bench chairman Mark Stollery told him: “We note you are the main breadwinner and carer for your family and within the family, members have life-limiting conditions, including your wife and children.”
The magistrate noted Salmon and his family would suffer “exceptional hardship” if he was disqualified, adding: “They rely on you abnormally compared to most families and we also note your charitable work and that takes up time and travel.”
Salmon previously said he took the role in EastEnders in 2022 as he “can’t be far from home” because his wife is “not well”.
His character in the soap, ex-boxer George Knight, is the patriarch of the Knight family and a former co-owner of the Queen Vic pub.
In James Bond, Salmon played MI6 deputy chief of staff Charles Robinson, and was often featured in scenes along side Dame Judi Dench’s M.
Salmon’s other screen credits include Death In Paradise, Silent Witness, Band of Gold, Judge John Deed, Bad Girls, Doctor Who, Spooks and Midsomer Murders.




