Freddie Flintoff opens up on ‘anxiety and nightmares’ after Top Gear crash

Freddie Flintoff has opened up on the ‘anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks’ he experienced after his Top Gear crash.

The former Lancashire and England cricketer, turned popular TV personality and presenter – whose real name is Andrew, but is more commonly-known by the nickname ‘Freddie’ – was notably involved in a significant crash while filming for since while filming for Top Gear back in mid December 2022.

The 46-year-old sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, but sources close to Flintoff claimed he’d been left “psychologically traumatised” following the incident.

Those sources also claimed at the time that it was likely the Preston-born sportsman would “never return” to Top Gear filming, before the BBC then later announced in November 2023 that it had made the decision to “rest” the long-running show, and that the programme would not be returning to our screens for the “foreseeable future”.

Flintoff – who is the current head coach of the Northern Superchargers cricket team – has previously spoken publicly about “the hardest time” in his life following the crash, but has now bravely opened up further about his experiences during the second series of his BBC documentary show, Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams.

In the first series of Field of Dreams – which aired in 2022 – Flintoff returned to his hometown to assemble a cricket team of teenagers who’d never played the game before, while the second series centres on the team taking a tour of India.

Filming for the second series began prior to Flintoff’s accident, with the crash occurring 12 weeks before the tour was scheduled to take place, and in the documentary, Flintoff is shown a week and a half after the accident in footage he shot himself on his phone.

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This also marks the first time he reveals the initial extent of his facial injuries, before any surgery took place at later dates.

Speaking about his recovery journey to cameras while filming for the second season of the show, Flintoff explained: “I thought I could just shake it off. I wanted to shake it off and say ‘everything’s all right’, but it’s not been the case.

“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. I struggle with anxiety. I have nightmares, I have flashbacks. It’s been so hard to cope with.”

Read more:

• Freddie Flintoff speaks publicly for the first time since Top Gear horror crash
• Johnny Bairstow carries off Just Stop Oil protestor who interrupted Ashes test match
• Freddie Flintoff appointed head coach of northern cricket team in first role since Top Gear crash

Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams is set to begin on Tuesday 13 August at 9pm on BBC One, or you can also catch up on BBC iPlayer.

Featured Image – BBC