The BBC was forced to hit back at reports iconic show Top Gear had been axed after 46 years, following Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’s horrific car crash.
Flintoff, 45, who became a presenter on the show in 2019, suffered severe facial injuries and broken ribs after flipping the open-topped Morgan Super 3 car over while driving at the Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey last year.
He has since agreed to an eight-figure settlement with the BBC, The Sun reports.
A spokesperson for the BBC told various publications: ”A decision on the timing of future Top Gear shows will be made in due course with BBC content.”
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The Sun had reported on last week that there was ”no way back” for the show following Flintoff’s life-threatening car crash and claimed that production staff were “told to focus on other work”.
“Top Gear has been an institution on British telly but the feeling is there is no way it can continue after Freddie’s crash,” they claimed.
Here, 9Honey Celebrity takes a look back at the incident and Top Gear over the years.
Freddie Flintoff’s crash and subsequent fallout
In December last year, it was reported that the former cricketer had been rushed to hospital after a car crash occurred when he was filming for Top Gear.
“Freddie was injured in an accident at the Top Gear test track this morning – with crew medics attending the scene immediately,” the BBC said in a statement at the time.
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“He has been taken to hospital for further treatment and we will confirm more details in due course.”
However, a source told The Mail on Sunday that despite claims the incident was a ”high speed crash,” the car was “going at 22mph [35km/h] when it flipped over. There is a lot of footage and it has been carefully looked at.”
They added: ”Freddie was not wearing a helmet but the situation is that he did not have to wear one.”
”They had only just set off and were on the first corner when the car flipped and he scraped his face along the tarmac.”
In 2019, Flintoff survived a 200km/h accident in a three-wheeled cycle car.
The former England captain recently made a speech while presenting Tom Hartley with a cap and after his long recovery.
He said the team will “be there for you in the hardest times of your life,” The Mirror reported.
”When you get this cap, this changes your life… They’ll share the good times with you, share the successes.”
“But as I found over the past few months, they’ll be there for you in the hardest times of your life. They will stand next to you. So, like the lion on the cap Tom, be brave, be fearless, be proud and enjoy every minute.”
The Sun reports that the cricketer has since negotiated a settlement with BBC Studios, who produce Top Gear.
Flintoff is said to receive a £GBP 9 million (approx. $17,343,324) settlement from the studios, which accounts for two years of earnings loss that he potentially missed out on after his “life alteringly significant” injuries. The BBC also offered Flintoff a duty-of-care package, including therapy, the publication says.
Flintoff reportedly decided not to sue the studios and potentially get a bigger payout, with the publication stating that both parties are “satisfied” with the package and plan to continue working together in the future.
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In response to the settlement, the broadcaster released a statement reading: “BBC Studios has reached an agreement with Freddie that we believe supports his continued rehabilitation, return to work and future plans,
“We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.”
The presenter was recently spotted in public showing off his extensive facial injuries.
Jeremy Clarkson sacked
Clarkson, 63, was dropped by the BBC in 2015, after he reportedly punched producer Oisin Tymon in a row about a steak dinner after a day of filming.
Tymon reportedly launched a lawsuit against Clarkson and the BBC and was said to be left with a bloody lip after the incident.
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Clarkson left the show and his colleagues and co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond left with him to go to Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour.
Shortly after, Clarkson broke his silence on the incident and said on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Radio 2 that it was his ”own silly fault” he got sacked.
”It was my own silly fault so I can hardly complain,” he said.
”I was at the BBC for 27 years, and did the current incarnation of Top Gear for 12, and it was very much my baby.”
”I absolutely adored it and worked all the time on it, all through the night, and I paid attention to every tiny little bit of it.”
”And then suddenly you’re not asked to do that any more, and you do feel that there is a big hole which does need to be filled.”
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However, in a piece for The Sunday Times, Clarkson said he would never return to the BBC as he claimed the show wouldn’t be made the same way as every show is ”pitch-perfect to the BLT+ community and the ethnic minority communities and the community communities.”
He added: ”Could I do Top Gear there now? Not a chance.”
The new Top Gear
Shortly after, Paddy McGuiness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris took over Top Gear on the BBC. Flintoff and McGuinness took over from Chris Evans and Friends star Matt LeBlanc.
The new-look show was reportedly a hit with viewings and in the ratings.
Top Gear has been on the air for years and the new format of the show premiered in 2002.
It was a revival for the original Top Gear starring Clarkson which aired from 1977 to 2001.
There have been a whopping 13 presenters on the show since 2002, including the likes of Rory Reide, Jason Dawe and The Stig.
There have also been a number of celebrity guests over the years on the show, including Rowan Atkinson, Tom Cruise and Margot Robbie.
In 2019, The Guardian reported viewership went down from 7 million to 2.35 million that year.
Scandals and controversies
The motoring show, which features plenty of fast supercars, has copped backlash in the past, including for promoting dangerous driving to the public.
In 2011, late singer George Michael called out Clarkson after the presenter joked about him on the show while reviewing a Jaguar XKR-S.
”It’s very fast and very, very loud. And then in the corners it will get its tail out more readily than George Michael,” Clarkson said.
Afterwards, Michael hit back, calling Clarkson ”pig-ugly” and ”homophobic”.
Clarkson once also reportedly used Camilla Parker Bowles in a gag.
In 2014, Clarkson was in Argentina filming a special for the show when protestors took aim at a Porsche he was driving with the number plate, H982 FKL, which they claimed was in reference to the Falklands conflict in 1982.
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Richard Hammond crash
Richard Hammond, now 53, was involved in a crash in York in 2006, while driving a jet-powered dragster called Vampire.
He was reportedly driving 319 miles p/h (515kmph) when his car flipped after a tyre mishap.
He spent two weeks in a coma with severe injuries after the crash.
Earlier this year, Hammond said on The Diary Of A CEO podcast that he’s concerned about his long-term memory after the crash.
“I have to consciously write memories down and work hard to recall them sometimes. It might be because I’m 53, it might be because I’m working a lot and I’m tired, it might be the onset of something else,” he said.