Former Top Gear host slams show after Freddie Flintoff’s crash injuries are revealed
A former Top Gear host has hit out at the show after Freddie Flintoff was seen in public for the first time since his horrific life-threatening crash.
Flintoff was involved in an accident at Dunsfold Aerodrome in December last year, while filming for the BBC show.
He ended up being hospitalised for broken ribs and facial injuries, which had not completely healed when he watched England's cricketers play against New Zealand on 8 September.
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However, his return to Top Gear remains up in the air as there have been claims that he feels 'unable to continue' on the show following the accident, leaving the fate of the popular show uncertain.
Former Top Gear host, Steve Berry, was on the show between 1993 and 1999 as their main man for motorbikes.
Speaking to GB News, he hit out at Top Gear in its current form and said things were better back in the days when he was part of the team that made it.
He said: "The difference back when I did it was they used to appoint motoring journalists.
"I was completely aware of the dangers that could often occur. I was under no illusion.
"The problem for me with the modern Top Gear is you’re asking a cricketer to do things that really should be done by people who know what they’re doing. But it’s the viewer that’s the problem."
The current Top Gear trio sees cricketer Flintoff working as host alongside comedian Paddy McGuinness and motoring journalist, Chris Harris.
If Top Gear does continue then it appears as though producers are going to look at the way the show handles stunts, with filming halted since Flintoff's accident.
Should the show continue then the stunts might be handled solely by professional drivers, though some producers have expressed a concern that the show is not really about cars and is more 'about stunts and jeopardy and presenters doing daft s**t'.
Flintoff's crash is not the first time a Top Gear presenter has ended up in serious danger because of the stunts the show occasionally dabbles in.
Richard Hammond almost died in 2006 after crashing a jet powered car at almost 320mph, but was able to return to the show a year later after making an incredible recovery.
Other Top Gear hosts have suffered a series of injuries in the making of the show, and when Hammond was presenting the show alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May they had a joke prepared should one of them die in an accident.
The BBC declined to comment on Berry's remarks.
Topics: BBC, Celebrity, TV and Film, Top Gear, Freddie Flintoff
Joe Harker