Freddie Flintoff has revealed the first image of the Top Gear crash that almost killed him – ahead of the release of a new documentary looking back at his life.
The cricketing superstar turned television presenter, 47, was left with horrific injuries after the car he was testing on the BBC motoring show flipped over at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey over two years ago.
Freddie retreated from public life for months as he recovered from severe facial injuries and broken ribs – but until now, footage of the crash that almost claimed his life has never surfaced.
But a trailer for Flintoff, Disney+’s new unprecedented documentary on the star has been released this morning – and gives viewers a glimpse of the horrifying scene.
Flintoff was driving a Morgan Super 3 three-wheeled sports car when it overturned and crashed off of the Top Gear test track on December 13 2022 during filming.
The car is an open-topped motor capable of hitting 130mph – and the cricketer wasn’t wearing a helmet when the car flipped over.
Despite the car being equipped with roll bars designed to protect occupants in the event of turning over, Flintoff suffered egregious facial injuries. He still bears the scars to this day.
‘I remember everything about it,’ Freddie says in a voiceover in the trailer, adding: ‘It’s so vivid.’
As he speaks, the video cuts to a still image of TV crews in high-visibility jackets gathered around the blue Morgan sports car.
A never-seen-before look at Freddie Flintoff’s (pictured) horror Top Gear crash has been released
Disney+ has dropped the first trailer for the ‘unprecedented’ documentary, Flintoff, and it features a shocking glimpse at Freddie’s crash
The 47-year-old cricket superstar was left with severe facial injuries and broken ribs after a three-wheeled car spun and flipped off a test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022
Flintoff says in the trailer that he wanted to film the documentary in order to give his side of the story after spending months out of the public eye, prompting concerns about his welfare.
‘I’ve lived under radar for seven months,’ Freddie says in the video. ‘One of the real frustrations was the speculation, that’s why I’m doing this now. What actually happened.’
Following the terrifying ordeal, Flintoff quit Top Gear and reportedly received a £9million settlement from the BBC of the crash, paid for by the broadcaster’s commercial arm.
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Freddie opens up about his injuries in the trailer and says, ‘I’m not saying embracing them, but I’m not trying to hide my scars.’
He goes on, ‘It’s almost like a reset, I’m trying to find out what I am now. I’ve always seemed to be able to flick a switch, I’ve got to find that switch again.’
Alongside motoring journalist Chris Harris and comedian Paddy McGuinness, Flintoff had fronted Top Gear since 2019, guiding the show back to success following a period of turmoil after its star presenters were sacked and quit in 2015.
The trio had been praised for improving the quality of the show after a tumultuous period that came with the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, sacked for punching a producer, and his co-stars James May and Richard Hammond.
However, co-star Chris Harris had previously raised concerns over the safety of some of the stunts on the show, which had gradually moved away from providing consumer advice on cars in favour of motoring-based entertainment.
Speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan, Harris said he had warned the BBC three months before the accident that there could be a ‘serious injury’ or ‘fatality’.
He said: ‘What was never spoken about was that three months before the accident, I’d gone to the BBC and said, ‘Unless you change something, someone’s going to die on this show’.
‘So I went to them, I went to the BBC and I told them of my concerns from what I’d seen – as the most experienced driver on the show by a mile.’
While McGuinness and Flintoff were ‘brilliant entertainers’, he said they ‘didn’t have the experience I had in cars’.
After the incident, Freddie kept out of the public eye for months as he recovered but has gradually returned to screens
The new 90-minute documentary will be released on April 25 and features Freddie as well as others close to him as they discuss his sporting career and life
His wife Rachael (pictured) and close friends including Michael Vaughan, James Corden, and Jack Whitehall, all appear in the film
Flintoff joined comedian Paddy McGuinness and car journalist Chris Harris to become a permanent presenting trio on Top Gear after the show suffered years of turmoil
The trio won over viewers with their on-screen chemistry and proclivity for high-octane stunts
Recalling the horrifying moments after the crash, Harris said: ‘There were two people that had driven a Morgan three-wheeler before present that day – me and someone else, a pro driver.
‘And we were sitting inside at that time. No one had asked us anything about the car. They’d just gone on and sH๏τ it without us.’
Harris arrived on the scene shortly after the crash. He told Rogan: ‘I remember the radio message that I heard.
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‘I heard someone say this has been a real accident here. The car’s upside down. So I ran to the window, looked out and he wasn’t moving.
‘He’s a physical specimen, Fred, he’s a big guy – six foot five, six foot six, strong. And if he wasn’t so strong, he wouldn’t have survived.
‘He’s a great advert for physical strength and conditioning, because if he hadn’t been that strong, he’d have just snapped his neck, he’d be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.’
Flintoff, McGuinness and Harris had taken part in a series high-octane stunts during their three-year stint in the show – with Freddie usually at the forefront of the most adrenaline-pumping fears.
Among the stunts he performed was a car bungee jump in a Rover 100, which was launched from the top of a 500ft dam in Switzerland.
Five years ago, Flintoff rode a 124mph trike that sH๏τ off into grᴀssland as he filmed a drag race against a car.
He escaped without injury, telling MailOnline 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.’
A Top Gear spokesperson said at the time: ‘The health and safety of our presenters and crew on Top Gear is paramount.
‘He suffered no injuries as a result of his spontaneous detour, as fans will see for themselves when we show the sequence in full.’
Freddie diced with danger after riding a 124mph trike in a drag race – shooting off into the grᴀss after running out of runway
He had been lying on the Time Bandit trike (pictured) while his co-presenters drove a Nissan GT-R supercar and a car converted into a shed
However, Flintoff’s 2022 crash in the Morgan proved too much, and filming on Top Gear was suspended pending an investigation after the car overturned at 22mph. Flintoff had reportedly been apprehensive about filming.
In March 2023, the corporation apologised to Flintoff for his injuries after a report was compiled by health and safety experts both inside and outside of the BBC. It paid compensation in October. The report was not published publicly.
It then put Top Gear on ice in November 2023 – seemingly indefinitely – due to the ‘exceptional circumstances’ of the crash.
The broadcaster said then that there would be ‘more to say in the near future’ – but no further announcement has ever come.
Flintoff’s new 90-minute documentary, released on April 25, will look at his wider sporting career as one of England’s greatest all-round cricketers as well as his second life as a TV star.
His wife Rachael appears in the film alongside a cohort of close friends including Michael Vaughan, James Corden, and Jack Whitehall.
It has been directed by the BAFTA and Emmy-nominated filmmaker John Dower, and produced by the team behind the BBC series Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams.
It saw saw him ᴀssemble a group of teenagers from his hometown of Preston into a promising cricket team.
Flintoff is set to document the sportsman’s compelling life story from winning two Ashes series for England, becoming captain of the team and to becoming a British TV icon.
‘This is a story of resilience through career highs, personal challenges, and the pressures of living under the public gaze,’ Disney said.
Flintoff has taken part in other high-octane stunts such as a bungee jump in a car from a 500ft dam in Switzerland
No pH๏τographs of the crash have ever been published before the trailer and new documentary.
Previously speaking about the 90-minute film, Freddie said looking back on cricket had been a healthy retrospective following the crash.
‘Cricket has always been a mᴀssive part of my life, shaping who I am,’ he said.
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‘Looking back on the highs and the lows, including the challenges I’ve faced since my accident, has been a real reminder of why my career in the sport has meant so much.’
Flintoff has spoken little of the crash but revealed some details of his recovery in the second series of Field of Dreams, enтιтled Field of Dreams On Tour, last summer.
The show saw him take his unlikely band of underprivileged teen cricketers he had ᴀssembled on a tour of India, serving as both a friend and mentor.
But he confessed that he had wondered whether he would ever return to presenting and mentoring on the show.
It featured a horrifying mobile phone video he sH๏τ from his hospital bed in the aftermath of the crash, his face covered in cuts and abrasions and medical dressings.
‘I’ve got to look on the positive, I’m still here,’ he said, talking with a lisp as his injuries healed.
‘I’ve got another chance and I’ve got to go for it. I am seeing that as a second go. This India trip is going to be just as much for me as for them now.’
Following the terrifying ordeal, Flintoff quit Top Gear and reportedly received a £9million settlement from the BBC of the crash, paid for by the broadcaster’s commercial arm. In March 2023, the corporation apologised to Flintoff for his injuries
Flintoff is set to document the sportman’s compelling life story from winning two Ashes series for England, becoming captain of the team and to becoming a British TV icon. It will delve into his return to the game following his life-altering car crash
He was praised on the show for sharing his own experiences of anxiety with some of the youngsters he had taken on tour after they found themselves doubting their value to the team in India.
Freddie appeared overwhelmed at times in India’s busy, noisy street markets – and confessed he had been left with anxiety after the crash.
He said: ‘I struggle with anxiety, I have nightmares, I have flashbacks. It’s been so hard to cope.
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‘But I’m thinking if I don’t do something, I’m never going to do nowt. I’ve got to get on with it.
‘It’s going to be a long road back and I’ve only just started and I am struggling already and I need help. I really am.
‘I’m not the best at asking for it. I need to stop crying every two minutes. I am looking forward to seeing the lads and being around them. I really am.
‘Got to look on the positive: I’m still here. I’ve got another chance and I’ve got a go at it. I am seeing that as how it is – a second go.’
Flintoff has, however, staged a comeback with aplomb – now serving as head coach for the England Lions cricket team, scouting out the young county cricket talent that could be tomorrow’s first-team superstars.
And his own children, Corey and Rocky, look set to follow in their dad’s footsteps on the field. Fast-bowling all-rounder Corey, 19, has signed a two-year rookie deal with Kent while Rocky, 17, plays for Lancashire after signing a deal last June.
Last year, it was also revealed Freddie would be the face behind ITV’s Bullseye reboot.
The ITV gameshow ran from 1981 to 1995 and was hosted by the late comedian Jim Bowen. It was revived once before in 2006 with Dave Spikey as the host.
Freddie hosted a one-off special Christmas reboot which aired on December 22.
Flintoff will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Friday, April 25.
