Katie Price faced the prospect of Christmas behind bars as she arrived at court today for her sentencing over a drink-driving crash in September.
The 43-year-old mum of five flipped her car in an early-hours smash on a country road near her house in West Sussex, and immediately admitted to police: “I took drugs, I should not be driving.”
In a statement from her family, she said: “Kate acknowledges and takes full responsibility for her actions. She knows they were wrong and apologises. Kate is deeply loved and she loves her family.
“We are all there for her right now – and her children, who she loves dearly, are giving her strength as a mum.”
Cocaine was found inside the wreckage of her car and the former multimillionaire-turned-bankrupt pleaded guilty to drink-driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance at a subsequent hearing.
Sentencing was delayed in September until December to allow Katie to undergo treatment at The Priory and to speak to the probation service.
But today Katie was told that despite her string of driving convictions, she won't be imprisoned - instead being handed a 16-week sentence suspended for 12 months.
She must also complete 100 hours of unpaid community work and is banned from driving for two years.
Here, body language expert Judi James analyses the secret giveaway signs that hinted at Katie's inner turmoil as she arrived at Crawley Magistrates Court...
Is Katie’s body language and appearance here suggesting an air of resignation? Her grey sweat pants and t-shirt and her natural-coloured manicure do suggest she has no plans to adopt a pose of either resilience or attention-seeking glamour.
Her hair looks tousled and she is clearly making a symbolic feature of that bare ring finger by raising it to touch her face mask in a protective-looking cut-off.
With the functional-looking puffa coat thrown over the top, this look suggests Katie might be in a practical and realistic mood rather than an optimistic one.
Her eyes are downcast rather than providing the usual communication she has with the cameras she loves, and that large bag and phone look raised in a cut-off barrier ritual to suggest a desire to self-protect.
It’s a very solitary-looking Katie, too, with no sign here of her entourage or legal team.
Ninety minutes later, Katie was told she'd narrowly avoided being jailed for Christmas with a 16-week sentence suspended for 12 months, 100 hours of unpaid community service and a two-year driving ban. She later reappeared holding on to fiance Carl Wood's arm.
With her puffa coat now fully zipped up like a sleeping bag, Katie walked from court using body language signals to suggest total dependency on Carl, who adopted the air of the world’s sulkiest bodyguard with his hands stuffed into his pockets in a gesture to suggest his heart might not have been in his current role as post-court minder.
As Carl mooched moodily, Katie extended a hand to cling to his arm as they walked past the press.
Looking more camera-alert than she did on the way into court, Katie either kept her eyes down or looked up with an eye expression that looked more about anxiety than celebration.
Her free hand was pushed into her coat pocket in what looked like a desire to hide. When she did look up at Carl her eye expression above the mask could have suggested gratitude.
