Top Gear co-host shares Freddie Flintoff update after presenter’s near-fatal crash

Harris said his ‘world fell apart’ when BBC series was halted indefinitely due to accident

Top Gear co-host Chris Harris has updated fans on Freddie Flintoff’s condition one year after his “horrific” crash.

In December 2022, the former cricketer and TV star, 45, was airlifted to hospital after suffering an accident while filming the BBC motoring series.

At the time, his son Corey, 16, said that his dad was “OK”, adding: “I’m not too sure what happened, but he is lucky to be alive.”

Flintoff, whose real name is Andrew, was reportedly filming a car review at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, home of the Top Gear test track, when the incident happened.

According to reports, Flintoff’s open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 car flipped and slid along the track when he was driving at high speed. He and a crew member in the passenger seat were wearing helmets, but Flintoff suffered facial injuries and several broken ribs

Harris has now shared an update on Flintoff’s condition, assuring Top Gear fans he is “healing”.

“I’m just over the moon that my friend Fred is still with us,” Harris told The Times. “If there is only one good thing that comes out of it, it is that there’s been dignity. Fred’s been given the time to heal. It’s been a tough time. I defy anyone to not care about their friends if they get injured. I do.”

Speaking on Thursday’s episode of BBC Breafast (9 November), while promoting his new memoir Various Valve Timings, Harris said of the accident: “It was a serious incident. I’m not going to say any more than that. As I’ve said in the book and in the few interviews I’ve given, I’m so proud of the fact that team Top Gear kept everything quiet and we were dignified.”

However, Harris also admitted that his “world fell apart” a bit after the BBC indefinitely halted production of Top Gear due to the accident.

He told the outlet that “not working is a really bad thing for someone who’s active and busy,” adding: “If you haven’t got stuff to go and do, then I think that’s a problem.”

Freddie Flintoff pictured on 8 September (Getty Images)

Harris said uncertainty surrounding the status of the series has affected him, stating: “Yeah, it’s been a ropey year. But life goes on.” On BBC Breakfast, he said the show’s hiatus led to him going into a “really dark place”.

In October, Flintoff’s facial injuries were spotted for the first time at England’s ODI clash with Ireland last month. Footage released of a training session ahead of the match showed the cricketer addressing the support his cricketing “family” had given him in recent months.