Top Gear is SUSPENDED after Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’s horror car crash

BBC has halted production of Top Gear after a horror crash on the test track left Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff ‘seriously injured’ and ‘psychologically traumatised’.

The former England ace, 45, was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs following a collision at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey on December 13.

Officials immediately suspended filming after the crash and began investigating the incident. BBC Studios told MailOnline today that it won’t make decisions to resume production until the investigation has concluded.

Meanwhile, cast and crew are still ‘reeling from the shock accident’ and concerned about the future of the show, insiders told The Sun on Sunday.

BBC has halted production of Top Gear after a horror crash on the test track left Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff ‘seriously injured’ and ‘psychologically traumatised’. Mr Flintoff is pictured in the programme’s 33rd series

Officials immediately suspended filming after the crash and began investigating the incident. BBC Studios told MailOnline today that it won’t make decisions to resume production until the investigation has concluded. Pictured: Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness

BBC confirmed that filming of Top Gear series 34 has been paused amid the ongoing investigation, the studio told MailOnline.

After the probe concludes, bosses will decide whether or not the show will carry on. 

Production insiders told the Sun that studio officials also want to give Mr Flintoff time to recover from the accident. 

Similarly, it is understood that many cast and crew members ‘wouldn’t feel comfortable beginning again without Freddie anyway’ because of the ‘integral role’ he plays in the show.  

The insider said the accident was a ‘shock for everyone involved and very serious,’ adding: ‘Because Top Gear is such a risky production and there are lots of logistics involved with filming, it’s far more complicated than other TV series.’ 

Top Gear typically premieres on BBC One in late autumn.

Mr Flintoff, 45, was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs following a collision at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey on December 13

Mr Flintoff’s horror collision occurred at the Dunsfold Aerodrome last month while he was behind the wheel filming. Medics at the venue near Cranleigh rushed to his aid.

The BBC confirmed that the father-of-four was hurt in the crash and taken to hospital for further treatment. 

It launched an investigation into the incident, due to be completed in the next two weeks, and insists ‘all health and safety procedures’ were followed.

Chris Harris, who presents the show alongside Mr Flintoff and Paddy McGuiness, was also at the Top Gear test track.

A review of the accident by the Health and Safety Executive, the government agency, has found no evidence of any serious failings requiring a formal investigation.

The smash comes three years after the ex-cricketer narrowly cheated death following a shock 125mph crash.

In 2019, Mr Flintoff was heard fearfully yelling ‘I can’t stop,’ as he hurtled head-first down a runway just inches off the ground in a three-wheeled cycle car.

He had been racing his co-hosts when he realised he was running out of road and about to overshoot the finish line – seeing him spin off in a cloud of dust.

Mr Flintoff walked away from the ‘near-death’ crash unscathed, insisting he was ‘absolutely fine’.

He said 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. It will look more ridiculous than dangerous when you see it on TV.’

Mr Flintoff, who was appointed England cricket captain twice, first in 2006 and 2007, retired from the game in 2010, before briefly returning to play for Lancashire four years later.

Following his illustrious sporting career he became a familiar face on television, joining various reality and panel shows and appearing as the face of supermarket brand Morrisons.

In 2010 he became a team captain on Sky’s A League Of Their Own, hosted by James Corden before being crowned king of the jungle in the first series of the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2015.

Top Gear star Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has reportedly put his TV career on hold after his horror car crash 

Though it is understood he avoided serious physical injury in the collision, his family reportedly begged him to stay away from work while he recovers from his facial injuries

Flintoff was injured as cameras were rolling to capture his opinion of the car for the show’s review segment (stock image)

After appearing in the BBC drama Love, Lies and Records in 2017, he went on to make his musical theatre debut in Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends The Musical and hosted All Star Musicals for ITV in December the same year.

He was announced in October 2018, ahead of the show’s 27th series, as a new host of Top Gear alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.

McGuinness also cheated death after losing control of a red Lamborghini in the Yorkshire Dales in 2020.

Richard Hammond was left in a coma after a serious crash during filming in September 2006.

The ex-Top Gear presenter crashed a jet-powered Vampire dragster vehicle while travelling at 288mph, and spent five weeks in hospital recovering from his injuries.

The former England captain has previously spoken about suffering from bulimia.

Describing how he would binge eat before making himself sick – even during international matches – he said: ‘I was doing it a lot. I was doing it at lunchtime, I would come off and have something to eat and go and bowl again.

‘I was cautious, you’d see if anyone was in the toilets with you and you’d find somewhere to go.’

The former England captain has previously spoken about suffering from bulimia

Mr Flintoff stopped his all-night drinking sessions in 2012 and says that drinking doesn’t help with depression  

He added: ‘Everyone was happy with me, I’d gone from that fat fella you saw making his Test debut to getting into some sort of shape.’

Mr Flintoff also said it was his wife Rachael, who he married in 2005, that helped him overcome his eating disorder, saying: ‘I don’t think I could have done all the things I’ve done without her. She’s always there.’

He realised he had an eating disorder while on holiday in Dubai with his wife and described throwing up a £400 scallop dinner.

He said: ‘I was in Dubai on holiday and we went to the fancy hotel. I remember I got this scallop three ways, and then this main course came. And I went into the toilet and threw up. I came out thinking I’ve just paid £300, £400, for this and I’m throwing it up in the toilet.’

He explained that that was when he told his wife Rachael about his eating problem.

‘I thought at that point, I’m going to say something. And [my wife] could see something wasn’t right,’ he said.

‘I think once I told her, that was the first part in being able to talk about it and ultimately stop doing it.’

He added: ‘It’s horrible. You know it’s wrong and you shouldn’t but something inside is telling you to do it.’

Mr Flintoff described how he would get ‘stick from the crowd’ about being overweight, having previously spoken about his weight ballooned to 17st 12lb.

Describing how his bulimia took hold, he continued: ‘I used to go out and get drinks and kebabs, and I would go home and make myself sick.

‘I was getting results, hitting targets, so it was working in theory.’

He also described how he became ‘paranoid’ that people were watching what he was buying at the supermarket after he admitted to having an eating disorder.

The retired all-rounder has also talked about struggling with depression and his decision to stop drinking.

Mr Flintoff said he stopped the all-night drinking sessions after making a documentary about depression in sport in 2012.

‘It’s not so much the drinking, it’s actually the reasons why you are drinking. When you are drinking because you are trying to get away from something I think that is when you have got to look at everything,’ he remarked.

‘One of the reasons I probably stopped drinking is that I am prone to suffer from depression. Drinking doesn’t help one bit. I don’t touch it now.’

He realised his drinking had started to become a problem when he was sacked as England vice-captain in 2007 after getting drunk and into difficulties after taking a pedal boat out to sea in St Lucia following a World Cup defeat.

Top Gear crashes through the years 

Richard Hammond crashes a Vampire Dragster – 2006 

Richard was left fighting for his life after crashing the jet-powered car while going at 288 mph as he tested the vehicle at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York. Hammond was completing a seventh and final run in the car when the front-right tyre blew-out and the dragster veered off the runway, rolled over, and Hammond was left with a traumatic head injury and was in a coma for two weeks. In the year following the crash the TV presenter returned to the show and spoke about the crash on the Jonathan Ross Show, but couldn’t remember any of it because of his injuries.

Shocking: Richard was left fighting for his life after crashing the Vampire Dragster while going at 288 mph as he tested the vehicle at the former RAF Elvington airbase

Freddie Flintoff crashes a jet trike – 2019

In September, Freddie revealed he suffered a nasty escape after a high speed crash in a jet trike during filming. The cricket star, 41, insisted he was ‘absolutely fine’ after his jet trike careered off the road during a race at the Elvington Airfield near York. Freddie reportedly careered his high speed trike off the road as he filmed the high-speed race. Crew members rushed to Freddie – who was wearing a full motorcycling suit and helmet for the scenes – but he emerged with barely a scratch.

Close call: In September last year, Freddie revealed he suffered a nasty escape after a high speed crash in a jet trike during filming

Paddy McGuinness’ back axle comes off his Pontiac Firebird – 2020

In the latest series of Top Gear, Paddy embarked on the ‘original’ American Road Trip with Freddie and Chris Harris. He arrived in their start point of Peru with a Pontiac Firebird which didn’t have a roof amongst several other problems. When the trio decided to test out their cars on a straight 1/4 mile stretch of road Paddy’s car only got a few yards before the back end of the axle came apart entirely and he was forced to abandon the car.

In the latest series of Top Gear, Paddy was forced to abandon his Pontiac Firebird after the back end of the axle came apart entirely (pictured)

Jeremy Clarkson flips over his Reliant Robin – 2010

In a now famous segment from Top Gear, former presenter Jeremy flipped over a Reliant Robin multiple times. The motorcar journalist was flipping it over to prove that the three-wheeled car could easily tip over. In his Sunday Times driving column Jeremy revealed that he had actually asked crew to tinker with the car ‘so that the poor little thing rolled over every time I turned the steering wheel’.

Flipping heck: In a now famous segment from Top Gear, former presenter Jeremy Clarkson flipped over a Reliant Robin multiple times (pictured)

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk