Exclusive: Freddie Flintoff Reveals Harrowing Details of Top Gear Near-Fatal Crash

A car crash is always a jolt to the system, but when it happens in the limelight, the aftershocks can resonate uniquely. Imagine, if you will, trading in the predictability of getting bowled out in cricket for uncertainty of a hairy, uncontrolled spin out in, well, what else would it be for Freddie Flintoff but a three-wheeler on the renowned Top Gear track.

Freddie, an icon of bounce-backs and now 47, has for the first time given an unbelievably detailed exposition of his ordeal – a crash that didn’t just interrupt filming, but almost life itself. This isn’t just about a man and his machine; it’s about resilience, survival instincts, and a journey back to where he feels the safest – behind the wicket or in this case, in front of the camera.

Here’s the thing, despite all the calamities faced through his cricketing career, Freddie’s real grit was tested when that wheel came off. The twist is, instead of being a downer, this incident became a narrative of perseverance, which he now bravely shares in his documentary “Flintoff”, slated to hit Disney+ on April 25.

Ever wonder what it feels like to face a split second of life-altering decision when gravity decides to mess with your plans? Freddie tells us it’s not much different than stepping up to the crease. “You get 0.4 of a second to make your mind up where the ball’s going, what shot you’re gonna play, how you’re gonna move your feet, and as it started going over, I looked at the ground and I knew if I get hit here on this side, then I break my neck, or if I get hit on the temple, I’m dead. My best chance is go face down.”

Intrigue, adrenaline, survival… that’s all part of the package in Flintoff‘s gripping story of human spirit. Want to find out how this national hero clawes his wayback through that harrowing, life-changing accident at Top Gear track’s icy grasp? For a heart-pumping tale that transcends the ordinary, click here for more. LEARN MORE

Warning: this article contains content some may find upsetting

For the first time, Freddie Flintoff has opened up in incredible detail about the Top Gear crash that almost killed him.

Back in December 2022, the former England all-rounder was driving around the show’s famous race track for what appeared to be a run of the mill segment.

But while Freddie and his family had been nervous about some of the previous stunts he’d thrown himself into – quite literally in some cases – for the sake of entertainment, they thought nothing of him taking a spin in a three-wheeler.

However, in his incredibly powerful new documentary, Flintoff, the 47-year-old finally opens up about that fateful day and how it changed his life forever.

Recalling the crash, Flintoff admitted that he can remember it all in vivid detail to this day.

“In some ways it would have been easier if I’d gone unconscious and then been unconscious for a week or two, and then you wake up and your stitches are out and everything, but I remember everything,” he says.

“We were probably doing about 40/45mph, they were showing me how to get the car going sideways, and the wheel came off.

“It’s a funny thing rolling a car, the point of no return – and everything slows down, it’s so weird.”

Weirdly, the terrifying incident took him back to his career as a cricketer, where he made his name and became a national hero and icon.

Freddie goes on: “I’m sure it’ll get questioned by people but I used to play cricket, I used to bat; you get 0.4 of a second to make your mind up where the ball’s going, what shot you’re gonna play, how you’re gonna move your feet, and as it started going over, I looked at the ground and I knew if I get hit here on this side, then I break my neck, or if I get hit on the temple, I’m dead. My best chance is go face down.

Freddie Flintoff was involved in a life-changing crash while filming Top Gear in December 2022 (Disney+)

“And I remember hitting, and then my head got hit, but then I got dragged out and the car went over and I went over the back of the car, and then pulled face down on the runway for about 50m underneath the car, and then it hit the grass and I flipped back in.”

For the next few moments, Freddie says he wasn’t sure if he was dead or alive.

He goes on: “My biggest fear was, I didn’t think I had a face. I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death.”

Freddie then spent the best part of an hour in unbearable agony as he waited for an air ambulance to arrive and take him to St George’s Hospital, where surgeons acted quickly to piece him back together.

Speaking in the documentary, Mr Jahrad Haq admits that Freddie’s injuries were among the most severe he had ever dealt with in his career, with the father-of-four having lost a significant amount of hard and soft tissue, with damage to his jaw, teeth, lips and nose.

Flintoff has bravely opened up about the crash and how he was able to find the strength to pull through (Disney+/Dave Benett)

The film, which lands on Disney+ tomorrow (25 April), follows Freddie’s long road to recovery, from taking refuge in his Cheshire home in the days and months after the crash to finally returning to his safe space, cricket.

Speaking at a Q&A for the doc, Freddie said he was thankful the sport had welcomed him back into its arms in his hour of need.

“It [cricket[ probably saved me. I’ve been welcomed back into that fold and I’m loving it, to be honest with you. I’ve got the opportunity now to coach. Who’d have thought a 31-year-old me would be put in charge of kids, the next best England players, and I absolutely love it, so foe everything that’s happened, I think sport is the one thing that’s given me the coping mechanisms to get through pretty much anything, because some of the lows in cricket are so low, and you’ve got to come back, it was resilience, it was passion, surrounded by people you love and people you trust, it was probably one of the most important things in my life after my family and my friends.