Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has been back in the public eye recently following a horrific accident while filming for an episode of Top Gear, but have you ever wondered why he is always known as ‘Freddie’ in the first place?
Flintoff has carved out a career for himself as a TV presenter after calling time on a stellar cricket career due to injuries in 2010, though he briefly returned in 2014.
He’ll always be fondly remembered as a supremely talented, unpredictable – if at times chaotic – all-rounder who was capable of single-handedly dragging his teams to victory.
Whether playing for Lancashire or England, Flintoff could usually be relied upon to make a telling contribution, either with the bat, ball, or in the field.
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The home Ashes series in 2005 will forever be remembered as the series in which England conquered one of the greatest test cricket sides ever seen, not just one of the greatest Australia sides.
But, the abiding images of that series invariably feature Flintoff, either showing great sportsmanship to console his opponent after a loss, or standing in a gladiatorial pose arms outstretched after knocking over yet another Aussie wicket.
Since his cricket career came to an end, he became a regular on A League of Their Own, as well as featuring on many other shows and creating his own cricket documentary in his hometown, Preston.
He’s been a presenter on Top Gear for a few years now, but that all came to an abrupt halt when he was involved in an accident whilst filming.
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The three-wheeled vehicle that he was driving at great speed flipped over, causing him to be seriously injured.
Thankfully, he’s recently re-appeared and seems to be recovering well from his injuries, although his future on Top Gear is still up in the air.
But, you know all of that – do you know about his famous nickname though?
You might think it’s just to do with simple alliteration, but you’d be wrong.
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It actually comes from the big man’s name being reminiscent of a cartoon character – Fred Flintstone.
Yes, it’s really as simple as that.
The story goes that he was given the nickname as a child, and it’s just stuck since then.
The alliteration does make it roll off the tongue, to be fair.
Since then, all his colleagues in TV and cricket have called him ‘Freddie’ or ‘Fred’ instead of his real name, Andrew.
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Can you imagine anyone calling him ‘Andy’, though?
Topics: Freddie Flintoff, Cricket, Sport, Celebrity, TV and Film, Top Gear
Tom Wood