Freddie Flintoff reportedly vocalised his fears about the safety of the Top Gear stunt that resulted in him having to be airlifted to hospital.
The former England cricket player and TV host, 45, was photographed for the first time since a horror car crash in December 2022 that left him hospitalised.
In the months since the crash, Flintoff has kept a low profile, with his family ensuring that the details of his injuries and recovery were kept private.
The pictures showed that Flintoff was still going through his recovery, as he wore a small plaster on his nose – cuts and bruises were also visible on his face.
According to reports, the TV personality was hesitant to get behind the wheel.
A source shared: ‘Freddie voiced his worries about the safety of the stunt on set on the day of the accident. He questioned whether or not it was OK, given the vehicle and conditions on the track.’
The insider added to The Sun: ‘He was apprehensive before he got behind the wheel and production staff at the track were aware of this. He was obviously used to taking part in these stunts during his time on the show, but alarm bells were ringing.’
A statement from BBC Studios earlier this year said it had ‘concluded its investigation into the accident at the Top Gear Test Track in Surrey last December, which regrettably injured presenter Freddie Flintoff’.
It continued: ‘We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery. Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time.
‘We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year.
‘This has also impacted the production team, who we continue to support.’
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Chief content officer Charlotte Moore also previously said: ‘My priority at the moment is supporting Freddie through his recovery so I think it would be really inappropriate for us to resume filming now.
‘I think when we get to the point where he feels ready … and we’ll get to thinking about getting him back.’
She added: ‘I think we’ve got to talk about what Freddie wants to do. When someone’s in recovery, I don’t think we would push that … I think that would be really inappropriate, I wouldn’t be happy.’
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Metro.co.uk has reached out to BBC for comment.
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