Ex Reality Star Banned From Driving After Testing Positive for Cocaine

Former Geordie Shore star and Celebrity Big Brother winner Scotty T has received a one-year driving ban after being caught operating his vehicle with cocaine levels three times above the legal limit. The reality TV personality, whose real name is Scott Timlin, entered a guilty plea on February 3 to two counts of driving with controlled substances above the specified limit, according to The Sun.

The 36-year-old was stopped in his Land Rover Discovery in Kenton, Newcastle, England, on Oct. 18 last year. Blood tests revealed he had 32 microgrammes of cocaine per liter of blood, significantly exceeding the legal limit of 10 microgrammes. Additionally, he tested positive for 800 microgrammes of BZE (Benzoylecgonine) per liter of blood, far above the 50 microgrammes legal threshold. Prosecutors noted there is a “zero tolerance” system, meaning even small amounts of cocaine can result in exceeding the limit.

The Newcastle magistrates’ court imposed a £330 fine on the television personality, along with an additional £85 in court costs. The incident marks another setback for Timlin, who has previously been open about his struggles with substance abuse. “I’ve been to the brink and managed to pull myself back again but it’s been horrendous,” he once shared with The Sun regarding his battle with drugs.

“I was overthinking things and my anxiety was through the roof. I couldn’t even leave the house, it was horrible,” Timlin previously revealed. “To cope I’d have cocaine. It helps me focus and concentrate. I was using it every day when I was off the rails and doing PAs up and down the UK – sometimes I was doing three in one day. I didn’t know how else to cope.”

The star’s legal troubles follow earlier career difficulties, including his 2018 departure from Geordie Shore, allegedly due to being photographed using drugs. Financial challenges have also plagued Timlin, who was declared bankrupt in 2019, with an Insolvency Service spokesperson stating, “Scott Timlin did not fully cooperate with the bankruptcy proceedings and so his discharge has been suspended indefinitely until he does.”

Timlin has been candid about his financial mismanagement, admitting to squandering approximately £1 million in just two years. “What have I got to show for it? I’d like to say memories but I don’t even remember it,” he previously confessed. On his reformed lifestyle, he recently noted to GB News, “I’ve grown up, I don’t go as much anymore. I’m very like one track-minded with work and stuff like that. And obviously I’m doing a lot of television. A lot of other things. Maybe a little bit of OnlyFans.”

Born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in April 1988 and raised by his mother, Gill Baxter, after his parents’ separation, Timlin rose to fame in 2012 when he joined the fourth series of Geordie Shore. His popularity peaked with a Celebrity Big Brother victory in 2016, leading to numerous nightclub appearances, performances with the Dreamboys, and pantomime roles. After a period away from television, he recently attempted a comeback, appearing in Channel 4’s Celeb Cooking School in 2024 and making a surprise return to Geordie Shore during a Bangkok-filmed episode.