‘Top Gear’ “On Hold” Follow Freddie Flintoff Crash Last Year
The BBC has halted production on Season 34 of ‘Top Gear‘ following Freddie Flintoff’s crash in December last year, saying it will make a decision later this year as to the future of the show.
“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,” said BBC Studios. “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.”
Flintoff was involved in a crash at the Top Gear Test Track in December 2022. The former England cricketer received medical care at the scene before being taken to hospital for further treatment. Stories have since emerged in a couple of the papers saying that Flintoff has quit the show, deciding he can not continue in his “daredevil” role, although these rumours are unconfirmed. The reports also say that “Freddie has been seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash.”
The accident marked Flintoff’s third crash whilst filming the series. In February 2019 he crashed into a market stall in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and then in September 2019 he crashed during a drag race at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire. The December 2022 incident, in which the open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 he was driving flipped over, was the worse of the crashes, suffering facial injuries and broken ribs, and being airlifted to hospital.
Following on from the… turbulent… departure of Clarkson, Hammond and May in 2015, ‘Top Gear’ struggled to regain the presenter chemistry needed for the series. It returned in 2016 with a lineup led by Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, but it was pretty clear that wasn’t working and required a reshuffle. After a few attempts to move things around, in 2019 the show introduced Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris as the new hosts, with this odd trio of an ex-cricketer, comedian, and presenter, finally recapturing some of the magical chemistry needed for it to succeed again.
It is a slightly odd statement from the BBC to just put the show “on hold”, and also apologising the Freddie for the accident. The Health and Safety Executive found no evidence of serious failings, although the BBC has said there would be a further health and safety review of the show. We’ll have to wait and see what happens later in the year.
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