The BBC has decided not to resume filming the latest series of Top Gear after presenter Freddie Flintoff was injured in an accident during production – but what details do we know of what happened?
The cricketer-turned-presenter was airlifted to hospital on 13 December 2022 after crashing while filming a car review at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, home of the Top Gear test track.
While insiders said at the time that his injuries were non-life threatening, his 16-year-old son Corey said that the 45-year-old was “lucky to be alive”.
“It was a pretty nasty crash,” he said. “It is shocking. We are all shocked but just hope he’s going to be OK.”
In the accident, Flintoff’s open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 car reportedly flipped and slid along the track when he was driving at high speed.
He and a crew member in the passenger seat were wearing helmets, but Flintoff suffered facial injuries and several broken ribs.
It has been reported that Flintoff is quitting the show, which he co-hosts with Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
“Freddie has been seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash,” a source told The Times. “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.”
In a new statement, the BBC said: “Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34.
“We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.
“We understand this [halting the show] will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year.”
Flintoff had narrowly avoided serious injury in an earlier crash not long after joining the show in 2019, explaining he “ran out of runway” at Elvington Airfield near York while riding a specialised three-wheel drag racing vehicle in competition with his fellow presenters.
