Featured Image Credit: Disney+
Topics: Cricket
Chris Nee
Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has revealed the heartbreaking reaction of his young son after the cricket star's near-fatal accident at the Top Gear test track in 2022.
Flintoff was filming for the BBC show at the Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey when the Morgan Super 3 three-wheeled sports car he was driving flipped and slid on the tarmac.
The terrifying crash left Flintoff with serious facial and rib injuries but he survived, later revealing that he was conscious and aware throughout the ordeal, and thought he was dead.
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Footage of the incident was released for the first time last week.
In 'Flintoff' a new Disney+ film due for release on Friday, the former England cricketer tells his harrowing story and reveals the experiences he went through as he rehabilitated away from the gaze of the public.
"What I’ve done, I suppose, in this house, is become safe and be scared to step outside of it," Flintoff reveals in the documentary, according The Sun.
"You want to be there for the kids and you don’t want to miss stuff and fortunately I’ve got four of them.
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"I’ve spent all this time with a three-and-a-half year old. He wouldn’t come near me to begin with, I think it frightened him, my face.
"It frightened me. That was heartbreaking."
Flintoff was left with facial scarring and discusses his reclusiveness in the film.
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The 47-year-old also tells of his sadness about not speaking more with former co-hosts Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris since the accident, an experience he admits he finds triggering.
Before pursuing a career in television, Flintoff was a world-class all-rounder who played county cricket for Lancashire and shot to fame as an England cricketer.
He was England's Man of the Series when they won the historic Ashes series in 2005 and went on to captain his country before retiring from test cricket in 2009.
Flintoff debuted as the host of the revamped Top Gear in 2019 and walked away from two previous crashes while working on the show.
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He received a £9 million pay-out from the BBC after the accident at the Top Gear track near Guildford.