Photo: Instagram / Freddie Flintoff
Most of us start the New Year with life-changing resolutions, but in the case of former England cricketer turned Top Gear host Freddie Flintoff, it might not be of the kind he wished for.
On December 13, during production of the upcoming season of Top Gear, Freddie Flintoff was involved in a single-car accident. Not many details about the incident have been made public, except for BBC to confirm that it happened and that it required hospitalization for Flintoff.
The accident took place at Surrey’s Dunsfold Aerodrome in sub-zero temperatures and, according to production insiders, did not happen because safety measures had been ignored or due to speeding. Flintoff was immediately airlifted to the hospital, with the BBC saying he was receiving treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
A new report in the British tabloid The Sun is now saying that, while those injuries never put Flintoff’s life in danger, they did put things into perspective for him. Apparently, he’s suffered pretty extensive facial injuries, chest injuries, and severe trauma, and it was more than enough to tell him that maybe the show wasn’t worth risking his life for.
According to an unnamed insider, Flintoff is putting his entire TV career on hold while he focuses on his physical and mental recovery. While that’s to be expected for anyone in his situation, the hiatus might turn into a permanent thing, because he’s also seriously thinking of quitting Top Gear altogether – but not his TV career.
“As a loving husband and dad he understands the fear his family feel about what’s happened, knowing that he could have been killed,” the tipster explains, before mysteriously adding that, “The full extent of his injuries will surprise many people, as the details of what happened have yet to fully emerge.”
This isn’t Flintoff’s first accident on the set of the popular car show, but it does sound like it’s the most serious to date. He was injured two times on two separate crashes in 2019, which was also his first year as host. First, he crashed into a market stall in Nottinghamshire and then ran out of road during a drag race at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, crashing. While he was injured on both times, he was back to work in almost no time.
It doesn’t look like this will be the case now. There’s a saying in showbiz that may apply here, about how there’s never smoke without a fire. The Sun may not be the most reliable source at all times, and that’s putting it lightly, but it’s the same outlet to break the news of Flintoff’s accident. In other words, the insider probably exists and they’re clearly spilling the tea from a position of knowledge.
Officially, neither the BBC nor Flintoff (or his family) has addressed the accident in detail, or plans for the future. Top Gear is currently on hiatus.
The accident took place at Surrey’s Dunsfold Aerodrome in sub-zero temperatures and, according to production insiders, did not happen because safety measures had been ignored or due to speeding. Flintoff was immediately airlifted to the hospital, with the BBC saying he was receiving treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
A new report in the British tabloid The Sun is now saying that, while those injuries never put Flintoff’s life in danger, they did put things into perspective for him. Apparently, he’s suffered pretty extensive facial injuries, chest injuries, and severe trauma, and it was more than enough to tell him that maybe the show wasn’t worth risking his life for.
According to an unnamed insider, Flintoff is putting his entire TV career on hold while he focuses on his physical and mental recovery. While that’s to be expected for anyone in his situation, the hiatus might turn into a permanent thing, because he’s also seriously thinking of quitting Top Gear altogether – but not his TV career.
“As a loving husband and dad he understands the fear his family feel about what’s happened, knowing that he could have been killed,” the tipster explains, before mysteriously adding that, “The full extent of his injuries will surprise many people, as the details of what happened have yet to fully emerge.”
This isn’t Flintoff’s first accident on the set of the popular car show, but it does sound like it’s the most serious to date. He was injured two times on two separate crashes in 2019, which was also his first year as host. First, he crashed into a market stall in Nottinghamshire and then ran out of road during a drag race at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, crashing. While he was injured on both times, he was back to work in almost no time.
It doesn’t look like this will be the case now. There’s a saying in showbiz that may apply here, about how there’s never smoke without a fire. The Sun may not be the most reliable source at all times, and that’s putting it lightly, but it’s the same outlet to break the news of Flintoff’s accident. In other words, the insider probably exists and they’re clearly spilling the tea from a position of knowledge.
Officially, neither the BBC nor Flintoff (or his family) has addressed the accident in detail, or plans for the future. Top Gear is currently on hiatus.
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