Freddie Flintoff: I've crashed five times already making 'Top Gear'

Freddie Flintoff has confessed he has already crashed five times since he began filming Top Gear.

The former England cricketer is set to take the wheel of the BBC car show alongside Paddy McGuinness and returning presenter Chris Harris when the latest series begins on Sunday night.

Flintoff, 41, spoke to The Sun about his fender benders so far, including crashing a hearse while racing around Mansfield in Nottinghamshire.

Flintoff said: “The hearse ended up in a market.”

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He added: “I rolled one in Iceland, but you’re meant to in the competition.

“And Chris has crashed into me twice but I’m not taking responsibility for them. So in total five crashes but two not my fault.”

Take Me Out host McGuinness, 45, bragged that he is yet to have any collisions on the show.

He said: “I’m the safest driver out of the three of us, I’ve not had anything.”

And while Top Gear may have become synonymous with the macho exploits of ex-presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, Flintoff, McGuinness and Harris are aiming to show their sensitive side.

Read more: Jeremy Clarkson moved to tears on the last episode of The Grand Tour

Flintoff said: “Times have changed. When I first started playing cricket, if you showed any feelings you’d get a smack round the head.

“Now I think the conversations I have with my mates are different.”

Ratings for the hit show plummeted in 2016 when Clarkson, Hammond and May left the BBC to launch their Amazon Prime show The Grand Tour and Chris Evans took over as co-host alongside Matt LeBlanc and several others. Evans ended up standing down as a result.

McGuinness admitted he hoped this latest reincarnation would be a success.

He said: “I want it to rate really well because, coming from Saturday night TV, it’s all about ratings.

“But I didn’t take the job with ratings in the back of my head.

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“I took it because I love the show and thought it was a fantastic opportunity.”

The comedian added: “People don’t want Top Gear to fail — they just want to get the magic back and hopefully we’ll get there with it.”

“You can never predict anything. If viewers love it, I will be not just happy for us but for Top Gear as a brand. It is a British icon and I want it to be loved again.”