Andrew Flintoff has revealed that his serious accident while filming Top Gear, left him “struggling with my anxiety” and having “nightmares and flashbacks”.
The former presenter was involved in a crash at the Top Gear test track at Surrey’s Dunsford Aerodrome in December 2022. This accident saw him airlifted to hospital.
Following the accident, the BBC confirmed that it had “rested” Top Gear production for the foreseeable future.
For the first time, Freddie Flintoff spoke about the accident in a new BBC documentary, Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams On Tour, where he takes a group of young people from his home town in Preston on a cricketing tour of India.
“I don’t want to sit and feel sorry for myself” – Flintoff
In the documentary, Freddie Flintoff had this to say: “I don’t want to sit and feel sorry for myself, I don’t want sympathy, but it’s going from being here for seven months, to going to India”.
“I’m struggling with my anxiety, I have nightmares, I have flashbacks, it’s been so hard to cope”, he continued. “But I’m thinking if I don’t do something, I’ll never go. I’ve got to get on with it”.
“long road back”
Elsewhere, the documentary also shows Flintoff recovering in hospital shortly after the crash.
While he admits that it will be “a long road back”, he stated that he is excited to see his young cricket team again.
“I genuinely should not be here after what happened”, Flintoff added. “This will be a long road back and I’ve only just started, I’m stuck already”.
“I need help, and I realise I’m not the best at asking for it. I need to stop crying every two minutes”.
“I’ve got to look at the positives, haven’t I?”.
“I’m still here, I’ve got another chance, I’ve got to go at it. I’m seeing that as how it is, a second go”.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the lads again and being around them, I really am”.
Flintoff Feels it was “a lot harder that I thought”
Flintoff also admitted that the process of recovery has been a “lot harder than I thought”, having initially thought that he could “just shake it off”.
“As much as I want to go out and do things, and I’ve just not been able to”, the former England cricketer added.
Flintoff also feels that this crash has changed his life forever.
“Not really, I’m not sure I ever will again to be honest. I’m better than I was”, he explained. “I don’t know what completely better is. I am what I am now, I’m different to what I was, that’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life”.
“Better, no, different”.
“bit of space”
The documentary also shows Kyle Hogg, former Lancashire team mate of Flintoff’s, informing the players that the trip to India is postponed.
Hogg who helps to coach the team with Flintoff, says: “He (Flintoff) just needs a bit of space at the moment”.
“When they started, Fred was there for everyone in the room, this is genuinely the time that you lads are there for him”.
“Fred’s accident is really bad, he’s going to need a lot of recovery time, he’s pretty lucky that he’s managed to get through it alive”, he stated.
Flintoff has later reunites with the team, telling them that “I’ve missed you”.
He also explained that he feels “like a father to the lads”, and that cricket was helping him to recover from his crash.
He said: “When I’m around cricket, I seem to forget everything, I lose myself in the game”.
“I feel like I’ve been more vulnerable than I ever have in my life in the past 12 months, so I’m reaching out to cricket I suppose again, to help me”.
