Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Freddie Flintoff, Cricket, Mental Health, Top Gear, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin
Topics: Freddie Flintoff, Cricket, Mental Health, Top Gear, TV and Film, TV
Freddie Flintoff has revealed the true extent of his shocking Top Gear crash injuries that forced him to quit the hit show.
In the first episode of the new series of the former England cricketer's documentary, Field of Dreams on Tour, he opened up about the incident.
The second series of the show, in which Flintoff mentors young cricket players, was delayed by over a year due to the horrific and lifechanging crash the former England star suffered whilst filming Top Gear.
The accident occurred in December of 2022, leaving Flintoff with facial injuries, broken ribs, as well as ongoing psychological effects.
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Field of Dreams’ first series saw Flintoff form a cricket team made up of a group of young lads from his hometown of Preston. Several hadn’t ever played cricket.
But as the new season kicked off, Flintoff addressed the extent of the injuries he suffered while filming Top Gear, with huge cuts and lacerations to his face.
For many months, fans wondered what had actually happened to force Flintoff and the rest of the team to abandon shooting and cancel the series.
But in recent weeks, with the release of his new series, it's clear he had suffered serious trauma.
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The second series, which will release in four parts, sees Flintoff take that team of young boys for a ‘special’ tour of India.
In the trailer, Flintoff says that they are ‘not only representing England’, but that it’s something ‘far bigger than that, [they’re] representing Preston’.
Speaking to Virgin Radio ahead of the release of the second season, Flintoff said: “We’ve seen a group of lads – through cricket initially – challenge themselves, challenge each other, challenge me, question their lives, question their futures, question their behaviour but then want to do something about it. And I promise you, we see an incredible group of boys grow up.”
In another interview the cricketer said the show was ‘so special’ and ‘unlike anything he has worked on before’.
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In a trailer posted to Flintoff’s Instagram, he acknowledged that something had happened prior to filming this season which ‘had changed [his] life forever’.
Speaking about the crash in the documentary, Flintoff said: “I don’t want to sit and feel sorry for myself, I don’t want sympathy, but it’s going from being here for seven months, to going to India.
“I’m struggling with my anxiety, I have nightmares, I have flashbacks, it’s been so hard to cope. But I’m thinking if I don’t do something, I’ll never go. I’ve got to get on with it.”
He went on to add: “I need help, and I realise I’m not the best at asking for it. I need to stop crying every two minutes. I’ve got to look at the positives, haven’t I?
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“I’m still here, I’ve got another chance, I’ve got to go at it. I’m seeing that as how it is, a second go.”