I’ll hold my hands up: I know very little about Freddie Flintoff.
I’ve seen enough to know he was clearly a lovely bloke, his real name is Andrew, he had a sense of humour popular enough to carve out a wildly successful television career (unheard of for a cricket player) and that his life almost ended when he flipped an open-topped car driving at 130 mph, sliding along a test track used to film BBC’s Top Gear.
Otherwise, I went into the Disney Plus documentary, Flintoff, in the dark knowing nothing other than this would be the first time he’s ever spoken about the moment he almost died in such graphic detail.
But I could be a lifelong Freddie fan, thought I’d known every detail about his life and career yet, still, nothing could have prepared me for how extraordinary his tell-all film would be.
I’ll admit, I came for details about the crash. For the last two years, it’s been one of the most shocking stories imaginable, and the details have largely – and understandably – been kept under lock and key.
Top Gear was subsequently taken off air for the foreseeable future, and Freddie spent months as a total recluse, only leaving the house to see his plastic surgeons and dentist.
Aside from brief moments in his hugely-acclaimed BBC series Field of Dreams, his first foray back into television since the crash, we’ve heard very little from Freddie about the crash.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t come up during his one-off revival episode of Bullseye
But even when Freddie wasn’t ready to face the public or even close friends, he let cameras into his home for the most unfiltered high-profile celebrity documentary I’ve seen.
Flintoff dives straight in with Freddie about to enter an appointment with his surgeon. He looks defeated, predicting he’ll get the same update he’s heard time and time again.
At this point, he’s still completely broken. It’s impossible to imagine who he was right after the crash but he and those who were there at the scene and by his bedside do their best to explain.
His agent weeps as she recalls being the first person to see him out of surgery, his face barely visible other than his eyes, which were ‘terrified’.
‘It’s my job to make things better… I couldn’t make this better’ she says.
The details are perhaps not surprising but they are overwhelming at times to hear.
Freddie had seconds to make a decision that ultimately saved his life.
After years of having weighty cricket balls flying towards him at 80mph, Freddie knew where the impact would kill him, his instinct kicked in and he knew he’d have to let the front of his face take the entire impact of the crash, his jaw, nose, teeth and eyes dragging along the track for 50 meters.
‘I thought my face had come off,’ he says.
Images show he wasn’t far from the truth. Weaved between footage of the collision are photos of his face taken moments later, his top lip missing and chunks of soft tissue completely gone.
At one point, he goes as far as admitting he ‘wished he’d died’ after the collision, thinking about the uphill battle ahead of him.
After getting the nightmarish elephant in the room out of the way, Flintoff is a perfectly balanced film about an extraordinary man’s life, career and recovery.
I can’t pretend I knew anything about the world of cricket other than once playing Brian Lara Cricket on the Sega Mega Drive in 1994 and deciding it was not the sport for me.
Watching Andrew’s rise and rise to becoming national hero Freddie Flintoff, one of the best sporting heroes this country has ever produced, was more compelling than I ever imagined.
I was one of the few Brits who managed to completely switch off from the buzz of the 2005 Ashes when Flintoff was responsible for pulling off one of the most impossible comebacks in history against Australia.
While the streets were lined with fans – including many who had never seen a cricket match until they’d caught wind of this lager-lout champion – I was busy practicing Britney Spears choreography alone in my room and watching bird noises play out on the Big Brother live stream.
Turns out I missed one of the most remarkable celebrations in British history.
But there’s no hiding away from his very public struggles after becoming a nation’s hero. Freddie and his inner circle are frank about his relationship with alcohol, which was celebrated as part of his charm and even the reason behind his success.
His teammates suggest he played better on the pitch when he’d let loose.
Brits too adored a sporting hero as talented at downing pints as winning matches, a killer combo for someone already prone to drinking more than the average Wetherspoons customer.
While the public lauded him for his drinking, they punished him too.
He reflects on the moment he sank too much rum and took a pedalo out to Ian Botham’s boat and had to be helped back to shore by hotel staff. His title as vice-captain of England was stripped, with a fickle press calling the incident his ‘fall from grace’.
At one point, he admits that if he could go back in time, he wouldn’t have touched a drop of alcohol, even if being sober could have jeopardised his sporting career.
Shortly after the door on Freddie’s cricket career abruptly closed at 31, another door was held open by James Corden, who pushed him into television. That’s the Freddie I’m more familiar with, a lord of the lads on shows like A League Of Their Own and Top Gear.
Clearly, it doesn’t light the same fire in him as cricket. He admits chasing the same high with daredevil stunts, which eventually almost killed him.
Top Gear or the BBC barely gets mentioned among details of the crash and it’s not until near the end of the film it becomes clear his former co-hosts Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris won’t be making an appearance.
Paddy previously confirmed he still hasn’t spoken to Freddie since the crash and in Flintoff we learn why.
‘I hate the word “triggering” but I’m worried about that. It’s also something [that] stopped in some ways because of what happened to me,’ he says.
‘Their careers have been altered as well, so I feel, not guilty, but I feel bad for them. And also it’s like, what happened gets dragged up enough in my own head without adding to that.’
It’s a testament to Freddie’s courage and determination to look forward that he’s done this documentary at all. When so many similar films feel motivated by good publicity, Flintoff genuinely feels like a ground-breaking moment in storytelling.
More Trending
It isn’t sensationalised, it doesn’t leave a stone unturned, but this has a much greater purpose than self-promotion or headline-grabbing.
Still, it’s impossible not to be drenched in admiration for one of the greatest sporting heroes and TV personalities of a generation, even if, at times, like his friend Jack Whitehall says, it’ feels like we’re talking about him like he’s dead’.
By a miracle, though, he is still very much alive and looking forward to a life which might not look like the one he had planned, but one he is very thankful for.
Deals of the Day
Save £300 on the 'Ferrari of lawn mowers' that gardeners are calling 'unbelievable'
Transform your garden with Dunelm’s ‘stunning’ £15 solar-powered string lights
H&M launches new Move running collection ahead of the London marathon on April 27
£4.50 Boots Berry Lip Mask which shoppers liken to Laneige is back in stock
Mejuri launches unmissable Stacking Event with up to 20% off for a limited time only
Flintoff is available to stream on Disney Plus from April 25.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: How to watch Freddie Flintoff’s 2025 documentary about Top Gear crash
MORE: Jack Whitehall confirms he suffered from serious disorder at beginning of TV career
MORE: Freddie Flintoff confirms why he’s avoided Paddy McGuinness two years after crash
