Andrew O’Keefe charged with drug driving

Troubled former TV star Andrew O’Keefe will face court later this month on a new charge.

Fallen TV star Andrew O’Keefe will face court again this month after being charged with drug driving.

The troubled former host of Deal Or No Deal and Weekend Sunrise is listed to appear in Waverley Local Court on January 20 on one count of driving with an illicit drug in his system.

It comes months after a magistrate warned the 53-year-old that he was on the verge of doing time behind bars after a years-long, drug-fuelled fall from grace.

Andrew O’Keefe pictured leaving Waverly Police Station. Picture: Richard Dobson

O’Keefe was sentenced in October to a 30-month community corrections order, contingent on engagement with rehab, and fined $2500 after pleading guilty in Waverley Local Court to possessing a prohibited drug.

He was also convicted and sentenced over two counts of contravening an AVO, entering enclosed lands without a lawful excuse, and driving with an illicit drug in his system, though no pleas were entered.

The charges were in relation to O’Keefe having meth in his car outside Rose Bay police station, driving with drugs in his system, and breaching an AVO.

A day earlier O’Keefe had overdosed on heroin at a party and needed to be revived by paramedics.

“You have been given lots of opportunities to do something about your use of drugs,” Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge said at the time.

“I can assure you the next step is jail. I’m not just saying that, I absolutely mean it. It’s got to the state where the court would believe you just can’t be rehabilitated.”

O’Keefe has been in and out of rehabilitation centres for the past few years in a bid to try and get his drug issues under control.

Andrew O'Keefe spent a decade as the host of Deal or No Deal. Picture: Supplied / Channel 7

Despite his well-publicised issues publicist and celebrity manager Max Markson believes he can still make a TV comeback.

“He can 100 per cent be back on TV. He can get back to the limelight. He can rebuild his career. He can be successful,” Mr Markson said.

“People love someone who’s gone bad and gets good again, and that’s what he’s got ahead of him.

“So, he’s gonna have a great future – a great future.”

Mr Markson said the former White Ribbon ambassador would “do charity work” to earn back the good graces of the public.

“That’s something that’s really important to rebuild his life from the ground up, and that’s what he’ll do,” he said.

“He’ll do some charity work, he’ll enjoy that. He’ll love it, and he’ll rebuild whatever his life will be.

O’Keefe leaves court in August. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

“He’ll definitely have success again. People will want him, and people will forgive the past.”

Mr Markson was confident Mr O’Keefe would succeed, and prove himself to the public and potential employers.

“He’ll do whatever he wants to do. He’s got the success gene, and he’s had a lifetime of that, and he will continue,” he said.

“He’s young. He’s got another 40 years plus to go for it, so it’s not an issue. People make mistakes in their life, and they rebuild and start again.

“This is great talent. It really is great talent … He’ll rebuild his entire life, and that’s a great opportunity for him to succeed.”

O’Keefe began his professional career as an intellectual property lawyer before beginning his 10-year stint hosting Deal or No Deal in 2003.

From 2005 until 2017, the 52-year-old co-hosted Weekend Sunrise, with stints hosting Dragons Den, the Logies, and The Rich List.

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia and was an ambassador for violence against women prevention charity, White Ribbon Australia.

That was before his years-long legal drama kicked off in January 2021 when he was charged with two charges of common assault and assault occasioning bodily harm.

The charges were dismissed on mental health grounds and he was ordered to undertake mental health treatment, but was back in court on similar charges in September.

During sentencing in 2024, the court was told O’Keefe had got into an argument with a woman.

The woman said O’Keefe pushed her against a door, injuring her wrist and hand, before kicking her and digging his nails into her skin.

She told police he then told her “good riddance” and tried to spit on her as she left.

The incident was described later in court as a “degrading” attack, with a judge sentencing O’Keefe to three 18-month community corrections orders.

Originally published as Andrew O’Keefe charged with drug driving