Freddie Flintoff has spoken for the first time publicly since his horror crash while filming for Top Gear late last year.
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 of ‘Freddie’ – has been filmed giving an inspirational speech as part of his new coaching role.
The Preston-born sportsman opened up about “the hardest time” in his life as he presented an England cap to spin bowler Tom Hartley.
The 45-year-old was seen for the first time in the public eye as he sat on the home balcony at England’s opening One Day International match against New Zealand in Cardiff earlier last month, and could be seen displaying the ‘serious injuries’ – most notably to his face – which he sustained during the Top Gear crash last December.
Many will remember that 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 was subsequently airlifted to hospital for treatment.
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Although the BBC said at the time that his injuries were not life-threatening, sources close to the former England captain revealed he’d been left “psychologically traumatised” following the incident, and said it was likely he would “never return” to Top Gear filming.
But up until this week, the 45-year-old hasn’t spoken about his experiences in any capacity publicly.
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A clip from Flintoff’s kind-hearted words to Hartley as he presented the England cap was released by England Cricket on social media yesterday (4 October).
Freddie Flintoff presenting an Englad cap to Tom Hartley / Credit: England Cricket (via Tom Hartley)
Flintoff told Hartley this was a day a player “remembers for the rest of [their] life”.
Sharing more words of wisdom, Flintoff’s emotional speech continued: “Your journey hasn’t been like a lot of people’s… [but] when you get this cap, this changes your life.
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“It’s one of those things – it’s before and after it.
“This enables you to walk tall and move faster. Play with passion, play with pride, play with belief, and also be part of a family of people. They’ll share the good times with you, the successes, but as I found over the past few months, they’ll be there in the hardest times of your life. They will stand next to you.
“So like the lion on the cap Tom, be brave, be fearless, be proud and enjoy every minute.”
Timothée Chalamet thinks the sexiest British accent is… Hull?
Clementine Hall
Hollywood A-lister Timothée Chalamet has revealed the British accents he finds sexiest, and the results are unexpected.
The 27-year-old star of Wonka said that a Hull accent is up there as one of his favourites, along with Italian and French.
How does Timothée Chalamet even know about Hull’s existence, never mind know what the accent sounds like?
The star, who rose to astronomical fame back in 2017 with his portrayal of Elio in Call Me By Your Name, and has since starred in blockbusters such as Dune and Little Woman, revealed his favourite access on the current Wonka press tour, The Hoot reports.
Chalamet appeared on LadBible TV talking to Keegan-Michael Key, where they discuss the internet’s biggest debates.
In a segment where they debate the British accent, Chalamet goes on to reveal his top three British accents… and the answers are not what you would expect.
Firstly he admits his favourite is the Hull accent, he says: “I like the Hull accent. Hull is sexy”.
We’ve never thought of the Hull accent as particularly sexy before, but we will absolutely take it.
Sir David Jason set for TV return in Only Fools and Horses documentary Christmas special
Danny Jones
In a surprise bit of festive news, the only and only Sir David Jason is returning for an Only Fools and Horses Christmas special this December. Lovely jubbly!
The best-loved and most-watched British comedy of all time will be back on our screens in documentary form this festive season, with Del Boy himself David Jason revisiting the iconic comedy character after 20 years he last played him on screen.
While the legendary sitcom was broadcast on BBC back in the day, the highly-anticipated Only Fools doc will be airing on Channel 5 right before Christmas as a special one-off programme.
Looking back on the show’s incredible run on UK screens over seven series and the several ‘Christmas Cracker’ specials, specifically, the latest Only Fools and Horses documentary will see Jason and a number of other guests appearing to chat about the legendary show.
The release date of the Only Fools special Christmas documentary is yet to be announced.
While it’s still unclear how many of the original cast will be appearing, Jason’s on-screen wife Tessa Peake-Jones (Raquel) is confirmed to be appearing along with other special guests including newscaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Bendiorm‘s Sherrie Hewson.
Sadly, a full theatrical reunion just isn’t on the cards following the deaths of Roger Lloyd Pack (Trigger), Kenneth MacDonald (Mike the Landlord) and Buster Merryfield (Uncle Albert) in the 30 years since the show ended its run.
Only Fools writer John Sullivan also sadly passed away aged 64 in 2011 and fellow co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, a.k.a. Rodney Trotter, told Metro: “We can’t. John is no longer with us. John was the driving force of the show and we have also lost quite a few cast members now.
“I don’t think I could do it without them and I certainly couldn’t do it without John. At the risk of depressing everyone, I think the last two times I’ve seen David has been at funerals.”
Simply entitled, ‘The Story Of Only Fools And Horses At Christmas’, the 90-minute special is yet to have its broadcast date fully confirmed but you best keep your eyes peeled on the TV guide — we’ll let you know as soon we do.
Jason, 81, has only just recovered from hip surgery earlier this year, so it’ll be nice to see his familiar grin back on our screens.
Right, we’re off to binge a whole series on UK Gold.
Emily Sergeant -
5th October 2023 
