Fans reward ‘inspiring’ Freddie Flintoff in ‘good’ new collection
BBC viewers were left in tears tonight after ‘incredible and inspiring’ Freddie Flintoff revealed the shocking extent of the injuries he suffered after a high-speed Top Gear Crash.
Throughout the new series, Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams On Tour which aired tonight, the 46-year-old revealed he ‘genuinely shouldn’t be there’ after the incident.
The cricket superstar was left with severe facial injuries and broken ribs after a three-wheeled car spun and flipped of a test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022.
In one heart wrenching clip, the father-of-three is seen lying in bed telling the camera he needs to stop ‘crying every two minutes’ before admitting that he was ‘struggling’ to come to terms with the long recovery process.
Photos and videos of his recovery were shown on the BBC show tonight, leaving viewers ’emotional wrecks’ and ‘crying [their] eyes out’.
Freddie Flintoff pictured in Calcutta during his programme Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams
New photos reveal the injuries sustained by Freddie Flintoff in a crash while filming Top Gear in December 2022
The former cricket player has opened up about suffering from nightmares and flashbacks to the crash
One wrote: ‘Watching the new Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams and I could weep. Probably will. What a man. My absolutely hero since I was 13.’
Another said: ‘Wow. I hope Freddie Flintoff realises how brave he is. He is an inspiration to so many people. Bravery and courage are the words that spring to mind. Anxiety may be there but with this attitude he will get through anything.’
A third added: ‘Freddie Flintoff is so brave. To take these kids to India after a life-changing accident is so generous. And the joy of playing cricket in a Kolkata alley.’
Others called him a ‘true inspiration’, ‘an absolute legend’ and ‘a top bloke’ as they watched the programme.
Fans were left shocked at the extent of Flintoff’s injuries, 20 months on from the crash in a £43,000 Morgan Super 3 that came close to claiming his life.
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 and brought him back in for a new series of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams which sees him take a group of youngsters on a cricket tour to India.
Throughout the programme, Flintoff laid bare his new reality after the horror crash took place, admitting the it would follow him ‘for the rest of my life’, adding that he still deals with nightmares and flashbacks.
![Photos and videos of his recovery were shown on the BBC show tonight, leaving viewers 'emotional wrecks' and 'crying [their] eyes out'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/13/22/88496291-13740459-image-a-36_1723584505257.jpg)
Photos and videos of his recovery were shown on the BBC show tonight, leaving viewers ’emotional wrecks’ and ‘crying [their] eyes out’
Flintoff quit Top Gear and reached a £9million settlement with the BBC following the crash. Pictured: Flintoff (left) with his Top Gear co-hosts Paddy McGuinness (centre) and Chris Harris (right)
Flintoff had been test driving a three-wheel Morgan Spencer 3 when it flipped over on the Top Gear race track
He tells the camera: ‘Week-and-a-half after my accident. Genuinely, should not be here with what happened.
‘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,’ he added.
The programme was filmed over seven months after the accident, with Flintoff revealing he underwent several operations.
Apart from hospital appointments, Flintoff said he rarely left the house with his wife Rachael reportedly begging him to stay off work and take time to recover.
‘I thought I could just shake it off,’ he explained. ‘I wanted to shake it off and say ‘I’m alright’ but it’s not been a case of that. It’s been a lot harder than I thought. As much as I wanted to go out and do things, I’ve just not been able to.’
It was the teenage cricket team from his hometown of Preston, however, that gave him the motivation to get back into the world and start presenting again, with one of the boys telling him ‘I missed you’.
Once the team is in Kolkata in India, Freddie says he is ‘reaching out to cricket to help me’.
He says: ‘Cricket is like a religion in India. It’s just everywhere you go. And Kolkata is different to other places I’ve been to.
‘To me, Kolkata is authentic India and the more time I spent there, the more I grew an affinity and a connection to the place because we all learnt so much and it’s had such an impact on all of our lives.’
In another emotional scene, one of the young cricketers on the tour with him asks him if he is 100 per cent now, he replies: ‘Not really. I don’t know if I will again to be honest. I am better than I was.’
He adds: ‘I don’t know what completely better is. I am what I am now. I’m different to what I was. It’s something I will probably have to deal with for the rest of my life. So…better? No, different.’
But determined to get better and recover he added: ‘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.’
Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams On Tour aired on BBC1 at 9pm tonight and is available on iPlayer.
