It will look more ridiculous than dangerous when you see it on TV.'įlintoff, who began presenting Top Gear in 2019, has also made regular appearances on A League Of Their Own and won the first series of the Australian version of I'm A Celebrity. He said at the time: 'I go to great lengths to make sure I do well in Top Gear drag races but, on this occasion, I went a few lengths too far. He had been racing his co-hosts when he realised he was running out of road and about to overshoot the finish line – seeing him spin off in a cloud of dust.įlintoff walked away from the 'near-death' crash unscathed, insisting he was 'absolutely fine'. The incident was said to have left the cast and crew 'reeling from the shock', with concerns over the future of the show which has had a history of serious crashes. 'Finally there will be a health and safety review of the show, in line with our procedures.'įlintoff, who won the Ashes with England as a cricket player before into TV presenting, had been driving a classic-look £43,000 British handmade vehicle –which is described as a 'motorised tricycle' and does not have air bags, according to maker Morgan's website. 'This has also impacted the production team, who we continue to support. '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. It also said: 'Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time. Last night the BBC confirmed it had apologised to the presenter, adding that it 'will continue to support' Flintoff 'with his recovery'. 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.' Reports have said the father-of-four had decided to leave the programme before the BBC confirmed it was halting filming of the next series, which had been set for release in the autumn.Īn insider told The Times: 'Freddie has been seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash. Yesterday the corporation said it had shelved the show and it was claimed the former cricketer felt unable to come back as he had been 'seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash'. MailOnline contacted the BBC for further comment.įlintoff was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs after the incident.įilming on the series was suspended while Flintoff recovered from his injuries and investigations took place, with reports the former professional cricketer was putting his TV career on hold. 'That's why this decision will be a painful one for Freddie, but he knows that, for now at least, there are more important things in life.' 'He has already signed up for a second series of his cricketing doc series, Field of Dreams. He was also planning a second series of his cricketing documentary series Field of Dreams, which was commissioned by the BBC in October last year, but following the crash is unable to begin filming.Ī source previously told the Sun: 'The problem is that Freddie now has a backlog of shows which are just waiting for him to start filming. It comes amid further fears that Flintoff's other BBC projects could be shelved as he recovers from the crash which has left him 'seriously emotionally and physically affected'.įlintoff was also set to star in an unnamed series for BBC Two dubbed The Repair Shop meets Top Gear, where cars undergo renovations and their owners reveal its history. There are now fears the future of the entire programme could be in jeopardy, with a decision about resuming filming understood to be made later in the year. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff (pictured) was seriously injured in a crash while filming the latest series of Top Gear
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