Freddie Flintoff must recover from crash before Top Gear filming resumes, BBC boss says

Top Gear won't resume filming until host Freddie Flintoff recovers from his accident, the BBC said.

The 45-year-old was involved in a horror car crash in December last year.

He was taken to hospital after being involved in an accident while shooting for the hit motoring show at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.

Top Gear's future has been up in the air since the accident and a BBC executive revealed it would be "really inappropriate" to resume filming the series while he's recovering.

Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) event on Thursday, chief content officer Charlotte Moore was asked if the BBC is committed to Top Gear returning.

She said: "My priority at the moment is supporting Freddie through his recovery so I think it would be really inappropriate for us to resume filming now.

Freddie got involved in a horror accident (BBC Studios/ Lee Brimble)

"I think when we get to the point where he feels ready … and we’ll get to thinking about getting him back."

The executive continued: "I think we’ve got to talk about what Freddie wants to do. When someone’s in recovery, I don’t think we would push that … I think that would be really inappropriate, I wouldn’t be happy.

"I think you’ve got to be really human about this and do the right thing."

After his horror accident, the BBC released a statement revealing they were doing a review of the show.

A spokesperson said: "Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34.

BBC said it would be "really inappropriate" to start filming while he's recovering (BBC/Lee Brimble)

"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."

Speaking to The Times, a source close to Freddie said he was "seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash."

They added: "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."

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