Featured Image Credit: BBC/Visionhaus/Getty Images
Topics: TV and Film, Top Gear, Freddie Flintoff
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: TV and Film, Top Gear, Freddie Flintoff
Top Gear has reportedly been axed after 46 years on air.
The future of the show has been hanging in the balance in recent months in light of Freddie Flintoff's car accident that left the ex-cricketer with serious injuries.
Flintoff was driving at 130mph at the time of the horror smash in December 2022, where his vehicle flipped over at the Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey while filming a segment for the show.
He hosted the popular BBC programme alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
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An insider has claimed that it was 'tough decision' to make, but felt like they couldn't continue after Flintoff's accident.
"Top Gear has been an institution on British telly but the feeling is there is no way it can continue after Freddie’s crash," they told The Sun.
“The BBC are aware they very nearly lost a presenter’s life while filming a segment, and there’s a feeling it would be in bad taste to continue making such dangerous material.
“It’s a tough decision but they know deep down it’s the right one as hardcore fans of the show won’t want to see a lightweight version.”
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LADbible has contacted BBC for comment.
In light of Flintoff's accident, Top Gear has been under fire for hiring presenters that aren't professional drivers.
Former host Steve Berry - who was on the show between 1993 and 1999 as their main man for motorbikes - hit out at Top Gear in its most recent form and said things were better back in the days when he was part of the team that made it.
He told GB News: "The difference back when I did it was they used to appoint motoring journalists.
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"I was completely aware of the dangers that could often occur. I was under no illusion."
Berry continued: "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."
At one stage it was rumoured that Top Gear might have proceeded without its famous stunts (or would have altered the way they do them), but some argued that would take away the main point of the show.
An unnamed ex Top Gear producer previously told the Mail Online: "The reason Top Gear is a hit is the crashes. That's the thing. It's not a show about buying new cars, it's about stunts and jeopardy and presenters doing daft s**t.
"You take the stunts away from the presenters and get a load of stunt drivers to do them and what is the point?"