Freddie Flintoff’s return to TV is finally confirmed following the cricketer’s horror Top Gear crash

Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff returns to TV screens in the second series of his show Field Of Dreams – more than a year after his horror crash on Top Gear.

The former cricketer, 46, was involved in a near-fatal car accident that left him seriously injured while filming the driving show in December 2022.

He has since been absent from TV presentations, but on Thursday the BBC confirmed he would return for the Field Of Dreams reprisal. The mirror reported. It is not yet known when the series will be broadcast.

In Field Of Dreams, Freddie returns to his hometown to inspire some unlikely teenagers to take up cricket.

The BBC announced in October 2022 that the series would be commissioned for a sequel, but there were no updates following Freddie’s crash – but earlier this month he was spotted filming for the show in India.

Freddie was ‘lucky to be alive’ after his three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 open-top car, which had no airbags, overturned in December 2022, leaving him with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs.

Following the near-fatal crash, the BBC announced it would be pausing Top Gear – and in November last year the corporation was given a break for the ‘foreseeable future’.

But fans were relieved earlier this month when he seemed to be on the mend as he showed off his healing facial injuries during the filming of Field Of Dreams India.

He looked cheerful as he posed for a photo with cricketer Subhajit Naskar at the Cricket Association of Bengal.

The Ashes hero was dressed in a black T-shirt, matching shorts and sunglasses.

A source said The sun: ‘Everyone is happy that Freddie is getting ready to go back to work. We know how much this series means to him. It was a passion project that was loved by viewers, so it’s great that it marks its return.”

His facial injuries look substantially better healed than during his last public appearance six months ago, in September 2023.

Freddie was driving a Morgan Super 3 – a lightweight ‘trackday’ sports car with two wheels at the front and one at the back – at the Dunsfold test track near Guildford, Surrey, on December 13, 2022, when it overturned.

The former cricketer, 46, was involved in a near-fatal car accident that left him seriously injured while filming the driving show in December 2022 (pictured in September)

The Ashes hero was dressed in a black T-shirt, matching shorts and sunglasses as he filmed Field Of Dreams in India (pictured during the first series before the crash)

Filming of the latest series of Top Gear was suspended after the crash (pictured: Freddie with co-presenters Chris Harris, left, and Paddy McGuinness, right)

The open-top car had no airbags and the cricketer was not wearing a helmet when the car rolled over at around 35km/h – meaning he ‘scraped’ his face on the tarmac in horrific scenes shown on TV production crew witnessed.

Freddie reportedly required a number of operations after the crash, which left him with broken ribs and facial bones after being dragged along the road.

Several staff who witnessed it were reported sick after reportedly being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder – a claim the BBC has denied.

He retreated from the spotlight at the insistence of his family to recover and broke cover for the first time last year to coach England cricketers.

Freddie, who is still recovering from his ‘life-changing significant’ injuries, is said to have reached a £9 million settlement with the company for two years of lost income as a result of the crash.

A source said The sun on his return to filming: ‘This will be a huge comfort to his fans as it shows that he is healing well and returning to two of his greatest passions: sports and television.

The former all-rounder played a crucial role in England’s 2005 Ashes winning series

In the next series of Field Of Dreams, Freddie goes to India – where cricket is hugely popular (seen before the crash)

‘Obviously there are some scars, which everyone expected, but Freddie seems to have made huge progress since he last played cricket in public.

‘He clearly feels comfortable enough to be in front of the camera again, which was not the case this time last year.

‘These are nervous first steps because he is recovering both mentally and physically, but the TV program he is making is a real passion project for him.’

Freddie was photographed in public for the first time since the crash in September and had visible facial injuries as he joined the squad for their one-day international series against New Zealand.