Michael Barrymore has been charged with possession of cocaine and being drunk and disorderly following an early morning car crash, police have said.
The 59-year-old was held at 4.30am on Tuesday after a Citroen DS3 hit a kerb in Acton, west London.
Barrymore, who was arrested alongside another man, is due to appear at Ealing Magistrates' Court on December 7.
During the 80s and 90s Barrymore was one of Britain's highest paid TV stars.
But he has long since fallen away from the public eye despite a mini revival in 2006 when he was runner-up in Celebrity Big Brother.
Barrymore's troubles with alcohol have been well documented and his career dived following the death of 31-year-old Stuart Lubbock who was found in Barrymore's swimming pool in 2001.
Barrymore, born Michael Parker, was held after officers on routine patrol discovered the crash scene at the junction of The Vale and Dordrecht Road.
It was understood police were unclear who had been behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
Both men have been bailed pending further inquiries to a date in mid-December.
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