Freddie Flintoff will present a special episode of the much-loved game show Bullseye on ITV before Christmas.
The cricket legend, 46, will take over the reins of the darts-themed show from the late comedian Jim Bowen, who famously presented the series during its first series from 1981 to 1995.
The British game show saw contestants compete in darts games and quizzes to win money and prizes and featured an animated anthropomorphic bull called Bully as its mascot.
It marks Freddie’s first new TV signing after his horrific crash on Top Gear in 2022, which left him with serious facial injuries and needing time out of the spotlight to recover.
The sun reports that Freddie was thrilled to star in a revival episode of Bullseye, with ITV bosses hoping the special would lead to it being made into a full series.
Freddie Flintoff will present a special episode of much-loved game show Bullseye for Christmas on ITV (pictured last month)
The cricket legend, 46, will take over the reins of the darts show from the late comedian Jim Bowen, who famously presented the series during its first series from 1981 to 1995 (pictured during the 1989 show).
The British game show saw contestants compete in darts games and quizzes to win money and prizes and featured an animated anthropomorphic bull named Bully as its mascot.
He told the publication: ‘I love darts and Bullseye was one of my favorite shows as a child. I can’t quite believe I get to host this Christmas special. There’s no way to beat a little Bully!’
A source teased the reboot, adding: ‘This is the perfect role for Freddie to start a whole new chapter in his career and his fans will be thrilled to see him on our screens fronting such a much-loved show .
‘Few would have predicted this move, but it’s a stroke of genius because Freddie has the same dry, Lancashire sense of humor and concern as Jim.’
Managing director Michael Mannes also told the publication: ‘We are thrilled to have acquired the rights to Bullseye, one of the most iconic game shows ever.
‘And the timing couldn’t be better, given the popularity of darts. Freddie is the perfect presenter for it and we can’t wait for the show to return to ITV.”
Freddie is a big fan of darts. He grew up playing the game with his friends and even holds a world record for the longest distance to throw a bullseye.
He attempted the record in 2012 as part of a Sports Relief challenge, hitting the bull’s-eye from 5.05 meters for a Guinness World Record, before joking: ‘You can keep your cricket. That’s a real sport: darts.’
He also joined Jamie Redknapp, Anthony Joshua and Tom Davis in playing darts in front of 10,000 people in Rotterdam in 2018 for a segment on his show, A League of Their Own.
Freddie is a big fan of darts. He grew up playing the game with his friends and even holds a world record for the longest distance to throw a bullseye (pictured)
It marks Freddie’s first new TV signing after his horrific crash on Top Gear in 2022, which left him with serious facial injuries and needing time out of the spotlight to recover.
In 2018 he spoke to Sky Sports about his love of darts, saying: ‘One of the things I love about it is that a lot of sports have become really professional and the public can’t identify with the players, but I I think darts is. keep that charm.
‘You see the crowd getting excited and looking at the players and thinking: he’s just a normal guy, good at what they do.
‘And it has to be said: it is one of the best atmospheres in sport. You see the crowd coming out, they’re dressed up and they have the signs. And the drama of it too! Seeing it live is incredible. I have loved darts for a long time.’
Darts has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years and it was previously rumored that Bullseye would return with Freddie’s former Top Gear co-star Paddy McGuinness at the helm.
During its peak, Bullseye attracted a whopping 20 million viewers and was previously briefly revived in 2006, hosted by Dave Spikey.
It comes next Freddie returned to TV screens after his horror crash on Top Gear, for tThe second series of his BBC One show, Field of Dreams.
The Sun reports that Freddie was thrilled to star in a revival episode of Bullseye, with ITV bosses hoping the special would lead to it being made into a full series (pictured in August)
It comes after Freddie returned to TV screens following his horror crash on Top Gear, for the second series of his BBC One show, Field of Dreams (pictured)
The sports star crashed into an open-top three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 car at 130mph, which had no airbags, leaving him with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs (pictured on Top Gear)
The sports star crashed into a three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 open-top car traveling at 130mph, which had no airbags, leaving him with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs.
Immediately after the accident he was faced with an ‘agonizing’ 45-minute wait for the air ambulance to arrive and rush him to hospital, with the BBC later apologizing to the presenter.
Filming on Top Gear was suspended and the future of the show – which he co-hosted with comedian Paddy and Chris Harris – remains in doubt after it was indefinitely axed last November.
And Freddie himself remained out of the public eye for months as he recovered from the accident. after his devoted wife Rachael, 42, reportedly ‘begged’ him to stay off work and take time to recover.
It is believed he was awarded £9 million in compensation from the BBC following the accident. The broadcaster also apologized to the cricketer.
However, the BBC brought him back for the new series of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, in which he took a group of young people on a cricket tour to India.