Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has broken his silence about his near-fatal horror car crash in a new trailer for his show Field of Dreams.
The star, 46, is fronting the new series which sees him put together a team of non-cricketers with the goal of taking them on a tour to India.
But the trip was nearly cancelled after his crash in December 2022 when Freddie’s car flipped over at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey – leaving him ‘lucky to be alive’.
In the trailer, which Freddie shared to his Instagram on Tuesday, he says of the incident: ‘But something happened which changed my life forever’.
Freddie is also seen telling the players: ‘We’re all going to find out something about ourselves – me included.’
The group of boys are all from Freddie’s hometown of Preston and he emotionally tells them: ‘From what I’ve done in my career. You lads are my greatest achievement’.
He says: ‘I want to take you on tour. I want to take you to India,’ before adding: ‘I want the boys to learn to be outside their comfort zone.
‘I just hope and pray that all the boys take these opportunities – and they grab it with both hands.’
The accident left facial scars that while still visible, seemed to be on the mend.
Fans of the star have been relieved to see his recovery taking good shape after he became the new head coach of the Superchargers.
While Freddie kept a low-profile initially in the aftermath of the incident, he has started returning to the public eye in recent months.
Although evidence of his injuries were at first clearly visible, they are already starting to fade somewhat.
Bosses at the BBC felt it would be ‘inappropriate’ to carry on filming Top Gear in wake of what happened.
In a statement, the broadcaster said: ‘Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
‘The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
‘We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.’
The UK show is currently sold to more 150 territories and there are 11 local format versions including in the United States, France and Finland.
Top Gear magazine is the world’s largest monthly motoring magazine with 30 licensed local editions, including China, France and Japan.
In addition, BBC Studios said a health and safety production review of Top Gear, which did not cover the accident but instead looked at previous seasons, found that ‘while BBC Studios had complied with the required BBC policies and industry best practice in making the show, there were important learnings which would need to be rigorously applied to future Top Gear UK productions.’
A statement added: ‘The report includes a number of recommendations to improve approaches to safety as Top Gear is a complex programme-making environment routinely navigating tight filming schedules and ambitious editorial expectations – challenges often experienced by long-running shows with an established on and off screen team.
It was reported that the former cricket coach negotiated a £9million settlement with the BBC for two years’ loss of earnings.
However insiders familiar with the agreement allege that he waived a ‘potentially bigger payout’ when he and the BBC ‘agreed to settle privately, with as little animosity as possible’, The Sun reported.
The BBC said this money would not be funded by the TV licence fee, as BBC Studios is a commercial arm of the broadcaster.
On the 13 December 2022, Freddie headed over to the track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, where the accident took place.
It has been reported that his car tipped over when he turned the corner at 22mph in icy conditions, insiders told the Mail on Sunday.
It has been said that the car enthusiast was not wearing a helmet when he drove the Morgan Super 3 vehicle – which can reach speeds of 130mph – over on the first bend while filming an episode.
The crash in the three-wheeler open top car left him with severe facial injuries and several broken ribs.
The presenter scraped his face and witnesses said that what they saw was so upsetting, some of the Top Gear team needed counselling, the MoS reported.
It was later revealed that the the £43,000 Morgan Super 3 British handmade vehicle, which is described as a ‘motorised tricycle’, did not have airbags fitted.
Immediately following the crash he was faced with an ‘agonising’ 45 minute wait for the air ambulance to arrive and rush him to hospital, with the BBC later giving the presenter an apology.
‘People talk about this “high speed crash” but although the consequences were horrendous, it was no such thing,’ a source told the MoS.
‘The car was actually going at 22mph when it flipped over. There is a lot of footage and it has been carefully looked at.
‘They had only just set off and were on the first corner when the car flipped and he scraped his face along the tarmac.’
The source also claimed that the BBC had spoken to Morgan, who said there was nothing wrong with the car.
Those driving the vehicle are not required to wear a helmet as the car has a halo safety device, according to the source.
Halo safety devices are a curved bar that is fitted on the car to protect the driver’s head in the event of a crash.
Freddie was first seen in public following the crash in September last year when he was photographed with cuts on his face.
He was spotted making a return to senior England cricket by joining the coaching staff at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens for the one-day international series against New Zealand as a mentor.
It was not the first time filming for Top Gear caused serious injuries – both Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson have previously told of awful crashes which has seen them need urgent medical attention while filming the BBC show.
In the aftermath of the accident, Freddie’s wife Rachael reportedly begged him to stay off work – perhaps influencing his decision to return to the relatively gentle world of cricket, as opposed to the increasingly daring lifestyle he lived before his crash.
A source told The Sun: ‘As a loving husband and dad he understands the fear his family feel about what’s happened, knowing that he could have been killed. He is determined to resume his TV work at some point though.
‘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.’
Meanwhile both former hosts Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson have told of crashes which has seen them need urgent medical attention.
One of the dragsters tyres blew causing the crash, flipping it upside down and leaving Richard with serious head injuries.
After his accident, Richard recovered and returned to the show in early 2007 but revealed in February this year that he fears he has memory loss as a result.
He said he is still suffering the after effects of his brain injuries caused by the extreme deceleration in speed that made his brain ‘slosh’ forward resulting in a ‘frontal lobe bleed’.
In 2017, Richard was involved in a second crash and was airlifted to hospital in Switzerland while filming Amazon’s The Grand Tour.
The accident took place in the town of St Gallen in north-east Switzerland. Richard had to be pulled from the wreckage of a Rimac supercar worth £2m that later burst into flames.
Incredibly he was able to pull himself from the wreckage before the car caught fire. He was airlifted to hospital with a fractured knee.
Co-host Jeremy described the accident as ‘the biggest crash I’ve ever seen and the most frightening but incredibly, and thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK.’
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Source: New York Post
