Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Hannah Roberts and Bill McLoughlin

BBC denies reports that Top Gear will be axed after Flintoff accident

The BBC has denied reports it has axed Top Gear after presenter and former cricketer Andrew Flintoff was injured during filming last year.

The Sun reported on Friday that the BBC has told production staff to look for other work following the incident at the show’s test track Dunsfold Aerodrome last December.

A BBC spokesperson told the PA news agency: “A decision on the timing of future Top Gear shows will be made in due course with BBC Content.”

Former England captain Flintoff, 45, widely known by his nickname Freddie, was filmed on Wednesday speaking publicly for the first time since the accident in a clip released by England Cricket on social media.

In the video, where he awarded an England cap to spin bowler Tom Hartley, Flintoff said: “It gives me so much pleasure to share what is going to be a day Tom that you’re going to remember for the rest of your life.”

Flintoff also touched on the incident and added: “They’ll (England Cricket team) share the good times with you, the successes. But as I found over the past few months, they’ll be there in the hardest times of your life, they will stand next to you.”

Filming for series 34 of Top Gear was halted after the accident, and the BBC said in March that it would be inappropriate to resume making the series at that time following an internal investigation into what happened.

Flintoff’s son Corey said at the time he was “lucky to be alive” and described it as a “pretty nasty crash”.

Former sports star Flintoff began presenting Top Gear in 2019.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.