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Freddie Flintoff has opened up about his physical and emotional struggles in the aftermath of his near-fatal Top Gear crash, saying he “genuinely should not be here” – but what exactly happened to the star back in 2022?
The cricketer-turned-presenter was airlifted to hospital on 13 December 2022 after crashing while filming a car review at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, home of the BBC’s Top Gear test track.
In April 2023, he was pictured out and about for the first time since the accident, with his injuries hidden by sunglasses. On Friday 8 September 2023, nine months on from the crash, Flintoff’s face injuries were seen for the first time during a public appearance.
While insiders said at the time that his injuries sustained in the crash were non-life threatening, his teenage son Corey said that the now-46-year-old was “lucky to be alive”.
“It was a pretty nasty crash,” he said. “It is shocking. We are all shocked but just hope he’s going to be OK.”
In the accident, Flintoff’s open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 car reportedly flipped and slid along the track when he was driving at high speed.
He and a crew member in the passenger seat were wearing helmets, but Flintoff suffered facial injuries and several broken ribs.
In a statement shared in April, the BBC said: “Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34. We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.
A more concrete update was shared in November 2023 when the BBC said it had decided to “rest” the show for an indefinite amount of time.
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The corporation said: “Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
“The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris [Harris] and Paddy [McGuinness], who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
“We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.”
Flintoff reached a reported £9m settlement with the BBC last year. The payout will not be funded by licence fee payers, as BBC Studios is a commercial arm of the broadcaster.
The show, which was previously hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, was taken over by former England cricketer Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris in 2018.
McGuinness insisted in April 2024 that the show hasn’t been cancelled. “It’s [the hiatus] what’s been put out there by the BBC,” he told Virgin Radio.“Top Gear hasn’t been cancelled. It’s just on hold at the minute while they get a few things in place.
“This isn’t me being like an MP, it’s what we know. So let’s see what happens. We’re all up for doing it, but it’s just when the BBC feel it’s right to do it again.”
This month, Flintoff opened up about the crash, revealing for the first time that he still suffers nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety.
He said he believes the accident has changed him forever. When asked if he is feeling better in the forthcoming BBC documentary Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams on Tour, he replied: “Not really, I’m not sure I ever will again to be honest. I’m better than I was.
“I don’t know what completely better is. I am what I am now, I’m different to what I was, that’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life. Better, no, different.”
Flintoff had narrowly avoided serious injury in an earlier crash not long after joining the show in 2019, explaining he “ran out of runway” at Elvington Airfield near York while riding a specialised three-wheel drag racing vehicle in competition with his fellow presenters.
