Casualty star Amanda Mealing has broken her silence over her cocaine-fuelled car crash, blaming the incident on a difficult split from her husband of nearly 30 years.
The 59-year-old actress, who played Connie Beauchamp in the soap from 2014 to 2021, was banned from driving for nearly two years after she was involved in a three-vehicle car crash on the A1175 in Lincolnshire, on January 26, 2024.
At a hearing at Boston Magistrates Court in 2025, she pleaded guilty to being over the drug-driving limit, having tested positive for cocaine and benzoylecgonine in a roadside test. She also pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the crash, Mealing told the Daily Mail it was the turmoil in her private life and a split from her husband that led to the incident.
“I was absolutely broken”, she admitted, noting how she was living with her husband for months after they broke up.
Mealing had been married to screen writer and film producer Richard Sainsbury since 1998, until their split, and together they have two adult sons.
“There were injustices… his behaviour was monstrous,” she added.
After admitting that 2025 was her “worst year ever”, she said: “I don't have a pot to p**s in now but I'm the happiest I've been.”
Speaking to MailOnline previously, the other motorist in the crash, Mark Le Sage, revealed how Mealing came out of nowhere, forcing him to give up his job due to injuries suffered in the collision.
“I was very lucky I was in such a substantial car—I very nearly took my motorbike out that day,” Le Sage said. He added: “I just came around the corner and 'bang,' it was right in front of me, and she hit the front corner of my car.”
In a statement read out in court, Le Sage revealed he could no longer work as a theatre nurse because the collision had severely impacted his motor skills.
It was revealed Mealing had been mourning the deaths of her father, her best friend, and her dog.
At the time of the crash, she had been returning from a friend’s house, where she had taken cocaine.
Her solicitor Edward Lloyd told the court his client was “horrified” about what happened and still couldn't explain why her car veered across the road.
“In terms of the offence, my client pleaded guilty to drug-driving at the very first opportunity,” Lloyd said.
“It’s something she’s deeply ashamed of. She’s not somebody who takes drugs at all. Her brother died of a drugs overdose when he was 18, and she says herself that she should have known better.”
Mealing was banned from driving for 28 months, fined £485, ordered to pay £400 in costs, and an additional £194 surcharge.
