Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has opened up about the life-altering injuries he suffered in a high-speed crash while filming an episode of Top Gear in December 2022. The England cricket legend was airlifted to hospital after he was involved in a 130mph crash at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome.
Flintoff suffered serious facial injuries and broken ribs and spent the following nine months out of the public eye as he began his recovery. Flintoff has since returned to cricket as a coach, working as a consultant with the England white-ball team and as the head coach of the England Lions.
And he is now set to speak openly about the crash and his recovery in a new Disney+ documentary titled ‘Flintoff’. Director John Dower spent the past year with Flintoff, revealing the scene of the crash for the first time, his recovery and return to cricket and interviewing his family and friends.
In a new trailer for the documentary, Flintoff discusses his memories of the crash. “I remember everything about it,” he said. “It’s so vivid.”
He then follows up, surveying himself, with the declaration: “This is what I’m left with.”
“I’ve lived under the radar for seven months, one of the real frustrations was the speculation, that’s why I’m doing this now. What actually happened?”
Flintoff has been left with permanent scarring on his face as a result of the crash and added: “I wouldn’t say I’m embracing them but I’m not trying to hide my scars.
“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.”
The 47-year-old has resumed his broadcasting career in recent years, presenting a second series of ‘Freddie’s Field of Dreams’ last year and helming a reboot of ‘Bullseye’. However, his main focus has been on coaching.
Flintoff is close friends with Rob Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket, and he has been keen to get the former all-rounder involved. Flintoff began working with the white-ball team in September 2023 and has since been appointed head coach of the Lions and the Northern Superchargers franchise in the Hundred.
And Steve Harmison, who is also close friends with Flintoff after starring alongside him in England’s historic 2005 Ashes win, told Mirror Sport that he had been left “overwhelmed by the outpouring of love” he received after returning to cricket.
“It’s great to see him back,” Harmison told Mirror Sport . “He loved every minute of it. He was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love with everybody seeing him for the first time since that horrific accident.
“Andrew Flintoff has been a cricket man since he was 10-years-old. He’s been brought up in it, his dad Colin and all his family were cricket, cricket, cricket. He was destined to play for England from the age of 12.
“He’s always had cricket in his life, but unfortunately when he left somebody was going to pay him a lot more money to do things that he was even better at which was to entertain. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time away to come back to the thing you love the most and he enjoyed being with the England team.”
The documentary, directed by John Dower, will air on April 25 on Disney+.
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