Freddie Flintoff pictured with healing scars from Top Gear crash as he launches comeback
Freddie Flintoff has been pictured for the first time since the BBC announced that it had axed Top Gear. The former cricketer was seen at the Charlotte Street Hotel in London as he promoted his new show.
Freddie Flintoff, the former cricketer and Top Gear star, has made a triumphant return to television after his near-fatal accident on set.
The 46 year old seemed in good spirits, brandishing a beaming smile as he returned for the second season of his cricket documentary on BBC One, "Field of Dreams".
Photographs captured outside the posh Charlotte Street Hotel in London show the father-of-four looking full of life. A bystander noted that Freddie, who was casually attired in a grey sweatshirt, black shorts and Crocs, was in high spirits.
They added: "He looked in great spirits and appeared to be at the hotel with friends who he makes his TV series with."
"The scars from his Top Gear crash seem to have improved a lot since the accident and it was great to see him with a smile on his face again. It was like the old Freddie", reports the Mirror.
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Flintoff was injured while filming Top Gear at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey during 2022. The broadcaster apologised to Freddie for the injuries sustained during the incident in March 2023 and settled last year in an agreement reportedly worth £9m.
Notably, this payout wasn't funded by the TV licence fee but by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the broadcasting company responsible for producing the show.
In "Field of Dreams", Freddie aims to motivate and inspire a group of teenagers from Preston to take up the sport of cricket, documenting the triumphs and trials they encounter along the way in the first series.
In the initial announcement about the show's second season, the BBC teased: "Freddie is setting himself an even bigger challenge as he takes some of his team and a handful of fresh recruits on a new adventure."
Snapped for the first time post-accident in September last year, Flintoff was seen getting hands-on during fielding drills with the England cricket squad in Cardiff, ahead of their one-day clash with New Zealand. Subsequent snaps have charted the steady healing of his injuries sustained in the harrowing Top Gear incident.
Back in March last year, the BBC issued a heartfelt statement: "We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery."
Acknowledging the halt of the show, the broadcaster stated: "We understand this [halting the show] 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."
Meanwhile, Top Gear favourites Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris are set to grace the BBC screens once more with a brand-new series. The dynamic duo is embarking on a fresh escapade titled 'Paddy and Chris: Road Trippin'.
This upcoming BBC series will delve into the lifestyles of Europeans as they age, with the 50 year old Bolton comedian and the 49 year old motoring journalist on a quest to discover the "secrets to living a long and full life".
The BBC spilled the beans to the Mirror about their upcoming series, revealing: "Coming to BBC One and iPlayer, the three-part series, made by BBC Studios Factual Entertainment Productions, will see self-proclaimed 'well and truly middle aged' Paddy and ''soon to be fifty'' Chris go on a mission to explore the secrets to living a long and full life. The two friends will be meeting some of the healthiest, happiest, not to mention 'well -preserved' and long-lived people alive. Along the way, they will be getting under the skin of each country they visit as well as doing plenty of soul searching."
"The pair will head to Sweden, Greece and Switzerland. Facing classic midlife tropes of their own, Paddy and Chris will take a deep dive to discover some of the most brilliant mid-life secrets on the planet."
