Top Gear host Freddie Flintoff will not be on TV screens until at least 2024 as he recovers from a devastating crash that took place while filming the hit BBC motoring show.
The 45-year-old cricket star and TV presenter was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs after the crash on December 13 last year.
He had been driving an open-topped three-wheel 130mph Morgan Super 3 car when he crashed. It was later said he was 'lucky to be alive' following the incident.
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BBC producers have reportedly since emailed Top Gear contributors to inform them that filming on the show has been 'pushed back' as Freddie, who lives in Preston, continues to recover from the crash, Lancs Live reports.
Another unnamed BBC program in the works has also been put on hold as the star recovers. The BBC2 series, understood to be similar to The Repair Shop, was set to show vehicle owners bringing in their old cars to be repaired by Freddie and his team.
A source told the Daily Mail: "It was hoped that the restoration show might have been an easy way back into making television for Freddie, who's clearly been shaken up by the accident.
"And the fact that he could have been making it this spring meant there was a chance we could see him back on our screens by the end of the year. But it's not a good sign that the filming has been called off at such a relatively late stage, and viewers will be gutted that such a popular star has been off air for so long."
Last month, Freddie was seen in public for the first time since the horror smash. Pictures published by The Sun showed him with his face covered and wearing a bucket hat while sitting in the passenger seat of his car, driven by his wife Rachael.
A statement from the BBC earlier this year said there would be a health and safety review of the show 'in line with our procedures' following the incident.
Asked last month if the BBC was committed to Top Gear returning, the corporation's chief content officer Charlotte Moore 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.
"I think when we get to the point where he feels ready... and we'll get to thinking about getting him back."
She added: "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."
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