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Freddie Flintoff is bravely opening up about his horror Top Gear crash after being left with life-changing injuries.
The pro cricket player, 47, has revealed he remembers everything in ‘vivid’ detail from the accident in December 2022.
Freddie was airlifted to hospital from a Top Gear test track and said to be ‘lucky to be alive’.
He spent months recovering from the crash, and suffered from severe facial injuries and broken ribs.
In a new Disney+ documentary, Freddie is now sharing his story, saying in the trailer: ‘I’ve lived under the radar for seven months, one of the real frustrations was the speculation, that’s why I’m doing this now.’
Where to watch Freddie Flintoff's 'unmissable' documentary
Freddie Flintoff's new documentary on Disney+, titled 'Flintoff', explores his terrifying Top Gear crash in 2022 and his subsequent recovery.
The film provides an intimate look at his physical and emotional journey, featuring personal insights, interviews with family and friends, and footage from the accident.
Premiering on April 25 2025, this documentary reveals how Flintoff navigated life-changing injuries and his path to reinvention.
Sign up to Disney+ now from £4.99 a month. No extra costs. Cancel at any time. Better yet? Get 12 months for the price of 10 with an annual subscription, compared to paying monthly, on your Premium or Standard plan.
The clip shows Freddie’s rise to becoming the world renowned cricketer he is, with clips from him as a teenager and through his sporting years, as well as reflecting on the near-fatal crash, as he says of his mental and physical scars: ‘This is what I’m left with.’
He adds: ‘I’m not saying embrace them, but I’m not trying to hide my scars.
‘It’s almost like a reset, I’m trying to find out what I am now.
‘I’ve always seemed to be able to flick a switch, I’ve got to find that switch again.’
What happened in Freddie Flintoff’s Top Gear accident?
In December 2022, Freddie was said to be ‘lucky to be alive’ after the crash at the Top Gear test track during filming at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
The vehicle he was driving flipped, and he was dragged for 50 metres underneath the car face down on the track.
In the documentary, Freddie reveals the open-top car turned over while he was being shown how to ‘get the car going sideways’ – but then, ‘the wheel came off at the front’.
‘It’s a funny thing rolling a car, because there’s a point of no return. And everything slows down. It’s so weird,’ he says.
He adds: ‘I got dragged out, the car went over, and I went over the back of the car, and then pulled face down on the runway for about 50 metres underneath the car. And then hit the grass and then flipped back in.’
He was left with facial scars and rib injuries, and suffered from ‘nightmares’ and ‘flashbacks’.
During his recovery, Freddie also admitted part of him wished he had died after the crash, saying: ‘After the accident, I didn’t think I had it in me to get through. This sounds awful… part of me wishes I’d been killed. Part of me thinks, I wish I’d died.
‘I didn’t want to kill myself… I wouldn’t mistake the two things. I was not wishing, I was just thinking, “this would have been so much easier”.’
After sharing his experience with ‘phantom pain’, he adds: ‘My biggest fear was, I didn’t think I had a face. I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death.’
What car was Freddie Flintoff driving when he crashed?
He had been driving an open-topped, three-wheel Morgan Super 3 when it flipped and slid along the track during filming.
Reports have suggested he wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, and that he was travelling at less than 50mph.
‘He wasn’t wearing a crash helmet. And if you do that, even at 25, 30 miles an hour, the injuries that you sustain are profound,’ Freddie’s Top Gear star Chris Harris said, as per Birmingham Live.
Months after the crash, following speculation over Top Gear’s future, the BBC announced it would be taken off air for the foreseeable future.
The broadcaster confirmed it would be pausing production on the hit motoring series, co-presented by Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness and automotive journalist Chris, as it was felt it would be ‘inappropriate’, adding there would be a health and safety review.
When is the Freddie Flintoff documentary on TV?
The documentary, titled Flintoff, will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Friday, April 25.
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The synopsis reads: ‘Flintoff is an exclusive documentary that takes an intimate and unprecedented look at the life of one of Britain’s most beloved sportsmen and TV personalities, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff.
‘With exclusive access to Flintoff and featuring his wife Rachael and close friends including Michael Vaughan, James Corden, and Jack Whitehall, the film documents his compelling life story from winning two Ashes series for England, to becoming a British TV icon, and finally, returning to the game following his life-altering car crash in 2022.
‘This is a story of resilience through career highs, personal challenges, and the pressures of living under the public gaze.’
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Flintoff will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Friday, April 25.
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