Yahoo News What we know about Freddie Flintoff's Top Gear crash
The cricketer is returning for a new series of Field of Dreams, where he will address his horrific car crash and how it affected him.
Freddie Flintoff is making his long-awaited return to TV with a new series of Field of Dreams, nearly two years after his horrific Top Gear crash.
The former England cricketer has been out of the public eye since crashing in an open-top car while filming for his hosting role on BBC One's Top Gear, making his recovery in private.
But as he is reunited with his unlikely team of cricket proteges for a second series of Field of Dreams where he addresses the terrifying experience, what do we know about what happened?
What happened in Freddie Flintoff's crash?
The cricketer was working as a host of Top Gear and filming scenes for the show when the crash happened in December 2022.
Flintoff was at Top Gear's regular track, Dunsfold aerodrome in Surrey, trying out an open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3, which flipped over and slid along the track.
The car does not contain air bags and although Flintoff and the crew member he was driving with were both wearing helmets, he had to be airlifted to hospital.
He suffered facial injuries and broken ribs, but in his new series of Field of Dreams he details the mental effects of the crash.
What did Freddie Flintoff say about his crash in Field of Dreams?
Field of Dreams viewers will see Flintoff address his crash for the first time as he returns to his documentary about coaching up a team of unlikely cricketers in his home town of Preston.
Speaking shortly after the accident, Flintoff is shown saying: "I genuinely should not be here with what happened. This will be a long road back and I’ve only just started. I’m stuck already. I need help, and I realise I’m not the best at asking for it. I need to stop crying every two minutes.
"I’ve got to look at the positives, haven’t I? I’m still here, I’ve got another chance, I’ve got to go at it. I’m seeing that as how it is, a second go. I’m really looking forward to seeing the lads again and being around them, I really am."
The documentary then shows him seven months on, planning a tour to India for his group of cricketers so that they can see the sport's significance there.
He says: "I thought I could just shake it off, but it’s not been a case of that. It’s been a lot harder than I thought. As much as I’ve wanted to go out and do things, I’ve just not been able to.
"I was full of anxiety. I had nightmares, I had flashbacks. It’s been so hard to cope with. But some of these lads have had a tough life. You’ve got to try and put it into perspective and I feel guilty I can’t do that. I don’t want to sit here and feel sorry for myself, I don’t want sympathy."
One of the boys in his team asks whether he is feeling "100% better again" and he says: "Not really. I’m not sure I ever will again, to be honest. I’m better than I was. I don’t know what completely better is. I am what I am now, I’m different to what I was, that’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life. Better, no. Different."
What has happened to Top Gear?
Since Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May left their long-running stint fronting the BBC car show in 2015, it went through a number of line-up changes. Clarkson had been sacked following an incident with a producer which sparked Hammond and May's resignations who said they came as a "package deal".
The most recent cast saw Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris hosting Top Gear which had proved a popular line-up with fans, but the programme has been on hiatus since Flintoff's crash.
Top Gear has been "rested". A BBC statement explained: "Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future."
It added: "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."
Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams On Tour begins on BBC One at 9pm on 13 August.
