Ms Lordan denies driving with excess alcohol

Ms Lordan, 36 - who plays Lynne Hobbs in the BBC One soap - told a court she was having an "unknown" relationship with the show's resource manager Peter Manuel.

Ms Lordan was drinking in the show's bar on 3 July 2001 but drove to the aid of Mr Manuel after hearing he had a car crash, she told St Albans Magistrates Court.

But she denies driving with excess alcohol, saying she suffers from heartburn, which could have distorted breath test results.

I was panicking about it coming out in the press about me and Peter Elaine Lordan

She told the court that she had finished work between 2100 and 2130 that night, then went to the bar with Mr Manuel.

"He was married" and the relationship was 'unknown'", she said.

"We were having an affair and very much in love."

Ms Lordan drank four single vodkas "and a dash of soda" while Mr Manuel had four gin and tonics - but at 2320, he left and she went to her dressing room with a fifth vodka, she said.

'Panicking'

The court heard that she planned to spend the night in her dressing room. "I looked at my scripts and scenes for the next day and finished off my drink," she said.

"Five minutes later, Peter phoned in quite a state. He said his car was a mess and he had hurt his nose."

"I was panicking. I started to get heartburn and a horrible taste in my mouth. I got straight in my car and went to Peter."

Mr Manuel's Renault Megane had hit a central reservation on the A1 near Barnet in North London, the court has heard, but he was not seriously hurt.

Ms Lordan arrived at the scene before police, and two officers approached the pair as the couple walked away from the crashed car.

'Very stressed'

She told the court that Mr Manuel lied to the police by telling them someone else was driving but had disappeared.

"I didn't say much," she said. "I tried to back him up. I felt very, very stressed and very, very anxious."

The police did not believe the story and when taken to Borehamwood Police Station, "my head was all over the place," she said.

"I was panicking about it coming out in the press about me and Peter."

Tests showed that Lordan had 51mg in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg in 100ml of breath.

'Off the hook'

When cross-examined, she agreed that she had drunk too much and had not intended to drive.

She also accepted that she and Mr Manuel had not called the police and were trying to leave the scene of the accident.

Patrick Fields, prosecuting, said: "Your attempt to suggest that you were a victim of reflux [the regurgitation of liquid from the stomach] is a repeat of the episode at the roadside.

"A simple attempt to get yourself off the hook."

Lordan replied: "No. I am telling the truth."

She was giving evidence during the third day of her trial before a district judge. The case has been adjourned until 23 October.