Lancashire cricket legend Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has opened up about the terrifying moment he believed he had lost his face following his life-threatening crash on Top Gear.
The former England all-rounder, who grew up in Preston and made his name playing for Lancashire County Cricket Club, speaks candidly in a new Disney+ documentary, Flintoff, which explores his sporting career, his rise as a TV personality, and the impact of the 2022 accident that left him with severe facial injuries.
Flintoff, 47, had been filming at Top Gear’s Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey when the open-top, three-wheel car he was driving flipped at around 45mph. In the documentary, he recalls how he made a split-second decision to protect himself from fatal injury.
“As it started going over, I looked at the ground, and I knew – if I get hit here on this side, then I’ll break my neck. If I get hit on the temple, I’m dead,” he says. “My best chance is go face down.”
What followed was a horrifying ordeal. Flintoff was dragged along the runway for 50 metres, before coming to a stop on the grass. For a moment, he feared the worst.
“I thought I was dead,” he admitted. “I was conscious, but I couldn’t see anything. I was thinking, is that it? Just seeing black for the rest of my days?
“My biggest fear was, I didn’t think I had a face. I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death.”
Emergency treatment for ‘complex’ injuries
Flintoff suffered multiple broken ribs and serious facial wounds, including the rare loss of soft tissue. He was airlifted to St George’s Hospital in London, where he was treated by maxillofacial surgeon Mr Jahrad Haq, who described his injuries as among the worst he had seen in two decades.
“His injuries, overall, for the past 20 years of seeing maxillofacial trauma, I’d probably put up in the top five,” said Haq.
Dr Tom Breen, who attended the scene with Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, said: “Freddie was clearly very shellshocked. He had quite a significant facial injury. I mean, it wasn’t one, it was several and multiple.”
Flintoff was given pain relief before being rushed to hospital. The extent of his injuries sparked widespread concern, and the incident eventually led to Top Gear halting production indefinitely.
A reluctant documentary – and a return to cricket
Flintoff initially resisted the idea of making a documentary about his life, but after the crash, he wanted to take control of the narrative.
“I didn’t want an accident – although it keeps coming back to it in the documentary—to be the one thing that defines you, or that you’re remembered for,” he said. “It’s something which happened, and it’s a constant struggle and a constant tug of war.”
Despite his near-death experience, Flintoff has since returned to cricket, taking up a role as head coach for England.
“Doing the job I do within cricket has allowed me to [stay under the radar],” he said. “This [documentary] is somewhere putting my head above the parapet, which I’m pretty nervous about doing.”
Flintoff: a career beyond the crash
While Flintoff doesn’t shy away from the impact of the crash, the documentary also reflects on his glittering sporting career and transition into TV stardom.
From leading England to Ashes glory in 2005, to becoming a household name on shows like Top Gear and A League of Their Own, Flintoff has reinvented himself multiple times—a journey he never imagined growing up in Lancashire.
“I feel very privileged to have played cricket professionally for 15 years, to have grown up around the game and experienced some incredible highs, some incredible lows,” he said. “I tried to enjoy it.”
Flintoff premieres on Disney+ on Friday, April 25.
