Freddie Flintoff opens up about Top Gear crash that left him with life-changing injuries

The former England cricketer suffered serious facial injuries and broken ribs while filming at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022. Flintoff, 46, stepped down from Top Gear in the aftermath of the accident, with the show being put on pause shortly after.

Flintoff has spoken out about the incident for the first time in a clip from his new BBC documentary Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams On Tour, in which he takes young people from his hometown in Preston on a cricketing tour of India. He said: “I don’t want to sit and feel sorry for myself, I don’t want sympathy, but it’s going from being here for seven months, to going to India.

“As much as I want to go out and do things, I’ve just not been able to. I’m struggling with my anxiety, I have nightmares, I have flashbacks, it’s been so hard to cope. But I’m thinking if I don’t do something, I’ll never go. I’ve got to get on with it.”

Flintoff made a tentative return to public life earlier this year, when he took up a role with England’s backroom staff for the T20 series against the West Indies. He also joined the Northern Superchargers as head coach in The Hundred.

In the new documentary, he said it would be a “long road back”, adding: “I genuinely should not be here after what happened. I need help, and I realise I’m not the best at asking for it. I need to stop crying every two minutes,” he said.

“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.”