Freddie Flintoff's friend reveals reason Top Gear star has avoided the media following horror crash

A friend of former England cricketer and Top Gear host Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has opened up on why the 45-year-old shunned publicity following a near fatal car crash last year. In December last year Freddie was involved in an accident while filming the BBC show that left him with facial injuries and several broken ribs.

It was later revealed that the car Freddie was driving, a £43,000 Morgan Super 3 British handmade vehicle, did not have airbags fitted. In the immediate moments after the crash Freddie faced a 45 minute wait for an air ambulance - something the BBC later apologised for.

The incident meant that filming of Top Gear’s new series was abandoned and it is currently unknown when it will be released. Freddie has hosted the show with Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris since 2019 and is popular with viewers.

Speaking to Online Cricket Betting Freddie’s friend, fellow cricketer Steve Harmison, has described how the Top Gear star’s mental health is the reason that he has avoided the media. “I saw him during his rehab and his son and my son played cricket together and Andrew was just starting to come out of the house and back into the world,” Steve said.

He added: “For me, that was the hardest part - everybody said it would be great to see him in cricket again, but he didn't want to come out in public. The minute he did, we knew that he really wanted to.

“It was about his own confidence, and it was great to see him back with a smile on his face. He's gone through a hell of a lot, he really has. It was a huge ordeal and nobody can understand what somebody goes through inside.

"Having suffered from mental health issues, I know that people who don't understand will try to give advice, and that can cause more harm than help. Andrew has probably had loads of people wishing him well and asking how he is, but sometimes that's harmful.

“Andrew needed his own time, he's taken it, and now he's back. It's brilliant to see. Some of the injuries he had were pretty horrific.” Freddie is not the only Top Gear star to ever be involved in an accident on the show though.

In 2006 former host Richard Hammond was left in a coma after losing control of a jet-powered racer. Then in 2020 Freddie's co-star Paddy McGuinness crashed a Lamborghini in the Yorkshire Dales. .