The BBC has axed the latest series of Top Gear after a horror crash that left presenter Andrew Flintoff ‘lucky to be alive’ – and now said to be unlikely to return to the show.
The 45-year-old has reportedly said he’s unable to continue in his role after he was involved in an accident while filming at a test track on December 13 last year.
He was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs after the car he was driving – an open-topped three-wheel 130mph Morgan Super 3 which doesn’t have air bags – flipped over at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
Filming 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 – and there are now fears the future of the entire programme could be in jeopardy.
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’.
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff (pictured) was seriously injured in a crash while filming the latest series of Top Gear
The former professional cricketer received facial injuries and broken ribs after the vehicle he was driving flipped over
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.
An insider told The Times: ‘Freddie has been seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash. 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.’
Last night the BBC confirmed it had apologised to the presenter, adding that it ‘will continue to support’ Flintoff ‘with his recovery’.
It also said: ‘Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time.
‘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.’
Flintoff, 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.
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.
After the crash his family reportedly begged him to stay away from work while he recovers, with an insider telling The Sun he would be ‘putting his career on hold until he is in a better place mentally and physically’.
They added: ‘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.
The TV host, pictured here with co-presenters Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness, had been filming the latest series of the show, which was due to be aired this autumn
Flintoff was driving a three-wheeled open-topped Morgan Super 3 car (pictured) when it flipped over
Flintoff’s family (pictured) reportedly begged him to stay away from the set while he was recovering from his injuries
The TV presenter, pictured here on a motorised trike during filming for a previous series of the show, is said to be ‘determined’ to return to screens at some point
‘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.’
After the incident his 16-year-old son Corey told MailOnline: ‘He’s OK. I’m not too sure what happened but he is lucky to be alive.
‘It was a pretty nasty crash. It is shocking. We are all shocked but just hope he’s going to be OK.’
The smash came three years after the ex-cricketer narrowly cheated death following a 125mph crash.
In 2019, Flintoff was heard fearfully yelling ‘I can’t stop,’ as he hurtled head-first down a runway just inches off the ground in a three-wheeled cycle car.
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.
Flintoff walked away from the ‘near-death’ crash unscathed, insisting he was ‘absolutely fine’.
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. It will look more ridiculous than dangerous when you see it on TV.’
Flintoff, 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… Get Me Out of Here!
He is best remembered for his time as a tubthumping all-rounder, most notably during the Ashes victory in 2005.
The former England captain finished with 79 Test caps and 148 limited-overs internationals.
Former Top Gear host Richard Hammond previously said he was ‘too scared’ to get checked for dementia following his horror crash while filming the hit BBC show.
The 53-year-old TV presenter – who fronted the programme alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May from 2002 to 2015 – suffered a brain injury following a catastrophic car crash while filming the show in 2006.
Richard was driving at 319mph in a Vampire dragster – a jet-powered car that has the potential to reach speeds of 370mph – when the front right tyre unexpectedly failed, causing the motor to spin out of control and flip upside.
He was left with life-changing side effects, including post-traumatic amnesia – and now fears his worsening memory could be dementia caused by the crash.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, he said: ‘I worry about my memory because it’s not brilliant. I can still read a script and deliver it but my long-term memory is not brilliant.
‘I have to write things down and work hard to remember them sometimes. It might be the age, it might be the onset of something else. I worry about that. I do.’
Top Gear crashes through the years
Richard Hammond crashes a Vampire Dragster – 2006
Richard was left fighting for his life after crashing the jet-powered car while going at 288mph as he tested the vehicle at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York. Hammond was completing a seventh and final run in the car when the front-right tyre blew-out and the dragster veered off the runway, rolled over, and Hammond was left with a traumatic head injury and was in a coma for two weeks. In the year following the crash the TV presenter returned to the show and spoke about the crash on the Jonathan Ross Show, but couldn’t remember any of it because of his injuries.
Shocking: Richard was left fighting for his life after crashing the Vampire Dragster while going at 288mph as he tested the vehicle at the former RAF Elvington airbase
Freddie Flintoff crashes a jet trike – 2019
In September, Freddie revealed he suffered a nasty escape after a high speed crash in a jet trike during filming. The cricket star, 45, insisted he was ‘absolutely fine’ after his jet trike careered off the road during a race at the Elvington Airfield near York. Freddie reportedly careered his high speed trike off the road as he filmed the high-speed race. Crew members rushed to Freddie – who was wearing a full motorcycling suit and helmet for the scenes – but he emerged with barely a scratch.
Close call: In September last year, Freddie revealed he suffered a nasty escape after a high speed crash in a jet trike during filming
Paddy McGuinness’ back axle comes off his Pontiac Firebird – 2020
In the latest series of Top Gear, Paddy embarked on the ‘original’ American Road Trip with Freddie and Chris Harris. He arrived in their start point of Peru with a Pontiac Firebird which didn’t have a roof amongst several other problems. When the trio decided to test out their cars on a straight 1/4 mile stretch of road Paddy’s car only got a few yards before the back end of the axle came apart entirely and he was forced to abandon the car.
In the latest series of Top Gear, Paddy was forced to abandon his Pontiac Firebird after the back end of the axle came apart entirely (pictured)
Jeremy Clarkson flips over his Reliant Robin – 2010
In a now famous segment from Top Gear, former presenter Jeremy flipped over a Reliant Robin multiple times. The motorcar journalist was flipping it over to prove that the three-wheeled car could easily tip over. In his Sunday Times driving column Jeremy revealed that he had actually asked crew to tinker with the car ‘so that the poor little thing rolled over every time I turned the steering wheel’.
Flipping heck: In a now famous segment from Top Gear, former presenter Jeremy Clarkson flipped over a Reliant Robin multiple times (pictured)