Fresh blow for TV host amid drug battle
An embattled former TV host’s public struggle with drug addiction has again been thrust into the spotlight after he was charged with driving with drugs in his system.
Andrew O’Keefe, 53, was stopped at 11.30am on July 28 for random testing while driving his Mercedes along Cranbrook Rd in Rose Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
He returned a negative result for the roadside breath test but police say he recorded a positive result for the roadside drug test.
The former Deal or No Deal host was taken to Waverley Police Station where he underwent a second oral fluid test that returned another positive reading.
He was charged with driving a vehicle with an illicit drug present in his system.
The former host of The Chase was represented by his lawyer Jahan Kalantar in Waverley Local Court on Monday.
Magistrate Stephen Barlow adjourned the matter until early next month.
O’Keefe will remain on bail.
The new charge comes after O’Keefe received a 30-month community corrections order and $2500 in fines after pleading guilty to drug-related offences in October last year.
The former Weekend Sunrise host has waged a public battle against drug addiction and has been in and out of rehabilitation centres for the past three years.
He was last year convicted of domestic violence offences after a “degrading” attack on a woman.
O’Keefe previously railed against domestic violence offences as the chairman of the White Ribbon Australia organisation, which aims to prevent violence against women.
He was an ambassador for the charity from its inception in 2007 until it was dissolved in 2019.
