The future of Top Gear ‘will be decided imminently’ after Freddie Flintoff’s car accident during filming

The future of Top Gear will reportedly be decided imminently following Freddie Flintoff’s “serious” car accident.

The 45-year-old former England cricketer was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs after a collision at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey on December 13.

Filming for the BBC show has been temporarily suspended while Freddie recovers from his injuries.

BBC bosses are said to expect the results of an internal health and safety inquiry in the coming days.

said a source Sun: ‘The report is imminent. Only when it’s finished and vetted will a decision be made as to whether filming on Top Gear can be restarted.

The future of the series depends on what the report says. It’s as simple as that.’

The BBC Studios health and safety team, which is separate from the Top Gear production team, launched the investigation.

Freddie’s injuries were reportedly more severe because the engine he was riding in had no roof. However, he was wearing a helmet that could have saved his life.

The insider added that the incident was a “shock to everyone involved and very serious.”

MailOnline has contacted representatives from the BBC and Freddie Flintoff for comment.

BBC Studios confirmed to MailOnline earlier this month that it will not make any decisions to resume production until the investigation is complete.

Production experts told The Sun that studio officials want to give Freddie time to recover from the accident.

Similarly, it is understood that many cast and crew members “wouldn’t feel comfortable starting over without Freddie anyway” due to the “integral role” he plays on the show.

The BBC previously insisted that “all health and safety procedures” were followed.

Chris Harris, who presents the show alongside Freddie and Paddy McGuiness, was also on the Top Gear test track.

A review of the accident by the Health and Safety Executive, the government agency, found no evidence of serious faults requiring a formal investigation.

The success comes three years after the former cricketer narrowly avoided death after a 125mph crash.

In 2019, Freddie was heard yelling ‘I can’t stop’ as he hurtled headfirst down a track just inches off the ground on a three-wheeled moped.

He had been racing with his co-hosts when he realized he was running out of track and was about to overshoot the finish line, watching it spin in a cloud of dust.

Freddie walked away from the ‘near fatal’ crash unharmed, insisting he was ‘absolutely fine’.

He said at the time: “I do everything I can to make sure I do well in Top Gear drag racing, but this time I went a little too far.” It will look more ridiculous than dangerous when you see it on TV.

Freddie, who was named England cricket captain twice, first in 2006 and 2007, retired from playing in 2010, before briefly returning to play for Lancashire four years later.

Following his illustrious sports career, he became a familiar face on television, joining various reality shows and panels and appearing as the face of supermarket brand Morrisons.

In 2010 he became captain of Sky’s A League Of Their Own team, hosted by James Corden before being crowned king of the jungle in the first series of the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! ! in 2015.

After appearing in the BBC drama Love, Lies and Records in 2017, he made his musical theater debut in Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends The Musical and presented All Star Musicals for ITV in December of the same year.

He was announced in October 2018, ahead of the show’s 27th season, as the new host of Top Gear alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.

Paddy also cheated death after losing control of a red Lamborghini in the Yorkshire Dales in 2020.

Richard Hammond was left in a coma after a serious accident during filming in September 2006.

The former Top Gear host crashed a jet-powered Vampire dragster vehicle while traveling at 288mph and spent five weeks in hospital recovering from his injuries.