Andrew Flintoff may “never return” to Top Gear after being hospitalised following an accident during filming, reports suggest.
Sources close to the former Lancashire and England cricketer, turned popular TV personality and presenter – who is more commonly known as ‘Freddie’ – have suggested that he may quit the BBC series “for good” after a horror crash at the end of last year has apparently left him “psychologically traumatised”.
His friends revealed to The Times that the 42-year-old was making a good recovery physically following the crash, but that the psychological impact was less clear at this time.
Flintoff was filming at Top Gear’s test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey back in mid December 2022 when he was involved in an accident and sustained injuries that required him to be airlifted to hospital for treatment.
His injuries were not said to be life-threatening, and a BBC spokesperson said at the time that further details would be confirmed “in due course”.
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It was confirmed that the accident did not happen at high speed.
Andrew Flintoff was taken to hospital after being involved in accident while filming Top Gear / Credit: BBC
The BBC explained in a statement at the time of the accident: “Freddie was injured in an accident at the Top Gear test track this morning, with crew medics attending the scene immediately [and] he has been taken to hospital for further treatment.
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“We will confirm more details in due course.”
This is not the first time Flintoff has been involved in an accident since he began presenting the long-running BBC factual entertainment programme back in 2019 alongside co-hosts Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
He also crashed into a market stall in Mansfield in Nottinghamshire in February 2019, and then, in September of the same year, he crashed yet again during a drag race while he was filming at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire – but he walked away from the latter unharmed.
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He began presenting the long-running BBC factual entertainment programme back in 2019 / Credit: BBC
Top Gear fans will probably also remember that former host Richard Hammond was notably involved in a serious crash at the same airfield in 2006, which left him in a coma.
Since retiring from international cricket back in 2010, Flintoff had one professional bout as a boxer, before venturing into TV where he became a team captain on Sky’s A League of Their Own, and was also a contestant on the Australian version of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, going on to be he crowned king of the jungle.
He has also taken to acting – appearing in BBC drama Love, Lies and Records in 2017 – and singing in Fat Friends The Musical too.
Featured Image – BBC
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One in 10 Brits are fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
We’re in peak office Christmas party season right about now.
With just under two weeks to go until the big day itself is here, many businesses across the UK are treating their staff to night out to celebrate both the festive season and all of the hard work they have been putting in throughout the year… and as you can expect, these are usually quite eventful gatherings, shall we say.
But now, a survey by has shed light on just how ‘eventful’ they actually are, as a new survey has revealed that, apparently, one in ten Brits face some sort of disciplinary action or dismissal due to their behaviour at Christmas parties.
The study was conducted by After Drink, and included more than 2,000 participants.
During the research, it was highlighted that 89% of employees admitted to drinking alcohol at these events, Lad Bible reports – with 65% of these confessing that they drank “excessively”.
One in 10 Brits get fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party / Credit: Kraken Images | Mimi Thian (via Unsplash)
There are a multitude of incidents which could lead to disciplinary action in the workplace nowadays, but according to the survey, some of the common reasons following festive celebrations with colleagues included inappropriate comments (23%) and even getting into fights (21%).
16% of these incidents were because of drug use during the event, while inappropriate interactions with colleagues accounted for 14%.
Some of the legal reasons you can be fired from your place of work after a Christmas party include gross misconduct, drunken behaviour, and fighting of any kind.
Despite all these risks, however, Christmas parties still remain as popular as always, and a whopping 79% of respondents said they are planning to attend theirs this year.
Clearly, the moral of the story here is , enjoy yourself… but just not too much.
Featured Image – The OurWhiskey Company (via Pexels)
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More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner
Emily Sergeant
More than 12 million Brits would argue that your Christmas dinner needs a side of Yorkshire puddings, a shocking survey has revealed.
The survey in question carried out by retailer Next – which polled a total of 2,000 Brits about their Christmas dining and tableware habits – has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track when it comes to, what we can all agree is, one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the year.
It turns out, Brits like a lot of unusual items on our Christmas dinner plate.
Some of the most obscure finds the survey is that two million people admitted to eating onion rings alongside their turkey and sprouts, and a further 5% (3.4 million) Brits like tucking into a bit of seafood on Christmas Day.
A surprising 4% (2.7 million) of people admitted that they like to add ketchup to their Christmas dinner plate – with mac and cheese, chips, and sweetcorn also making the top 10 list.
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner / Credit: Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
If all of that wasn’t mad enough as it is, one of the most shocking stats from the survey is probably the fact that a whopping 1.4 million respondents even said that they wouldn’t consider it a Christmas dinner without the addition of baked beans.
But when it comes to Christmas dinner, there’s probably one debate that’s bigger than them all, and is still yet to be decided – do Yorkshire puddings belong on your Christmas dinner plate or not?
Well, 12.7 million Brits believe that they do, and we reckon a good chunk of that number is us northerners.
The UK’s top 10 non-traditional Christmas food items
Yorkshire Puddings (19% – 12.7 million)
Bread sauce (5% – 3.4 million)
Seafood (5% – 3.4 million)
Ketchup (4% – 2.7 million)
Mac and cheese (3% – 2 million)
Onion rings (3% – 2 million)
Chips (2% – 1.2 million)
Bread (2% – 1.2 million)
Sweetcorn (2% – 1.2 million)
Beans (2% – 1.2 million)
A new survey has revealed has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track for Christmas dinner / Credit: Lisa Baker (via Unsplash)
While previous research has shown that the most common items on a British Christmas dinner are roast potatoes and gravy, these latest stats reveal there are some people out there who just like to do things a little differently.
But no matter how you like to eat it, a delicious Christmas dinner is always going to be something to celebrate, right?
Emily Sergeant -
23rd January 2023 
