Featured Image Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images/BBC
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Top Gear, Freddie Flintoff
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Top Gear, Freddie Flintoff
Freddie Flintoff was said to have been left too traumatised to return to Top Gear after a near-fatal accident last year.
The retired cricketer, whose real name is Andrew Flintoff, was airlifted to hospital in December 2022 after a crash occurred while the star was filming a segment for the show at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.
Flintoff was driving a three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 at 130mph at the time when the vehicle flipped and slid along the track.
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Fortunately he was wearing a helmet at the time.
His son Corey, 16, later spoke out about the incident and said his dad was 'lucky to be alive' after the 'nasty crash'.
Flintoff's time on the show has since been hanging in the balance as many Top Gear fans questioned if the dad-of-four would return to the show.
Sources have since suggested that Flintoff has quit after being left 'emotionally and physically affected by the crash'.
They told The Times: "Freddie has been seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash.
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"He is a daredevil, that’s what he does, and he doesn’t feel like he is able to continue to play that role on the show."
BBC declined to comment when contacted by LADbible.
Flintoff's representatives have also been contacted.
The 45-year-old presented the show alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
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Harris joined the show in 2016, while McGuinness and Flintoff made their Top Gear debut three years later.
Following the crash, the BBC confirmed that it had abandoned filming the series while it underwent a series of health and safety investigations.
"Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time," the broadcaster said in a statement.
"We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgment about how best to continue later this year.
"This has also impacted the production team, who we continue to support. Finally, there will be a health and safety review of the show, in line with our procedures."
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The full extent of Flintoff's injuries were never confirmed by him, but the Preston-born cricketer is said to have suffered serious facial injuries and broken ribs.
Flintoff's remained out of the public eye for several months after the crash and was spotted for the first time since the ordeal over the weekend.
He wore his England cricketing gear on Saturday, 8 September, to watch the men’s team’s opening one-day international against New Zealand at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.
The former England captain was seen with scars on his face and had tape across his nose.
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While Flintoff's Top Gear future is uncertain, apparently he's set to make a TV return elsewhere.
According The Mirror, Flintoff is set to return to TV as this winter he is said to be filming the second season of Field of Dreams on BBC.
The show follows the ex-England captain's search to find untapped cricketing talent in his hometown of Preston.