Latest news with #Andrew"Freddie"Flintoff
RTÉ News
01-08-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Andrew Flintoff says hospital staff who cared for him after car crash are 'superheroes'
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff has praised the "love and compassion" of the hospital staff who cared for him after his car crash at a Top Gear test track. The former international cricketer visited hospital workers who looked after him in the aftermath of the accident, which he described as "the lowest I've ever been". In December 2022, Flintoff sustained severe injuries while filming at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey for an episode of BBC show Top Gear. His surgeon described Flintoff's case as one of the most complex he has ever seen. The former international cricketer was airlifted to St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London, – a major trauma centre. "I just want to say a massive thank you to all the staff at St George's," Flintoff said. "I came here probably the lowest I've ever been, in need of help and the expertise, the love, the compassion they showed me was incredible. "I'll be eternally grateful – absolute superheroes." Recalling the incident, consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon Jahrad Haq, said: "I was on call that day and received a phone call from the emergency department consultant. "A lot of injuries are managed at a more junior level before escalating, so I knew this one was serious. "Of all the trauma cases I've seen in over 20 years, this was among the most complex." Shamim Umarji, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, said: "It's very rewarding when patients come back and you get to see them not just as patients, but as people. It's a real privilege. "When you see their recovery, you remember how important our job is. "It was wonderful to see Freddie again and his visit gave staff a real boost. He spent a lot of time chatting to everyone and it meant a lot." Kate Slemeck, managing director for St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I'm incredibly proud of the care we provide at St George's. "It's always heart-warming to hear from patients about the expert care, compassion and kindness they've received from our clinical and support teams, and this shows the lasting impact they have on people, long after they've left hospital." During a documentary about the accident, Flintoff described how he used the split-second decision-making from his cricketing days to try to reduce the impact of the crash. He said he was "pulled face-down on the runway" for about 50 metres under the car. The former England star said he thought he had died in the accident. For months after the crash Flintoff disappeared from public view and would leave his house only for medical appointments. His recovery has been documented in a documentary, Flintoff, streamed on Disney+.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Freddie Flintoff's heartbreak over his face 'frightening' his son after Top Gear crash
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff shared his "heartbreak" over his youngest son Preston being "frightened" by his changed face after the Top Gear crash. The cricketer, 47, sustained serious facial injuries in a high-speed crash while filming the BBC motoring show in December 2022. Now the sportsman has reflected on the impact it has had on him, his wife Rachel Wools and their four children: Holly, Corey, Rocky and Preston. Speaking in the Disney+ documentary Flintoff, the presenter has shared his haunting experience of reliving a "movie" of the Top Gear accident and how he has slowly rebuilt his life. The northerner made the brave decision to open the documentary with his anxieties about his appearance following reconstructive surgery. In a piece to camera, he said: "Winds me up a bit [that the surgeon says it's the best he's seen Freddie]. Because I don't think I'm ever going to be happy with it. Both amazing [the surgeons]. I'm appreciative of it. But they'll never give me what I had back. I wasn't that happy with it then but it wasn't too bad was it?" In one devastating moment, Flintoff later detailed the "heartbreak" he felt when his three and a half year old son Preston "wouldn't come near" him after the accident. "I think it frightened him, my face," he told the camera. Filming seven months after the crash in the comfort of his home, he said: "One of the real frustrations was the speculations. That's why I'm doing this now. Just getting it out there what actually happened." He added: "I've lived under the radar for seven months. Only time I'm getting out is for medical stuff. What I've done I suppose in this house is become safe. I've become scared to step outside of it. "You want to be there for the kids and you don't want to miss stuff — fortunately got four of them. I've spent all this time with a three and a half year old. He wouldn't come near me, I think it frightened him, my face, [it] frightened me, that was heartbreaking." Flintoff said it only takes a "slight reminder" — even a glimpse in the mirror — for all the memories to coming flooding back about what happened at the Dunsfold Aerodrome. Stepping in front of the camera, his wife Rachael Wools gave her side of the story for the first time. The mum shared the private conversation she had with their children — something she has never talked to her husband about — before Flintoff came home from hospital. "Before I got home, I did call the kids, I did say to them you've got to be as strong as you've ever been," she said. "Your dad does look different at the moment. It's going to get better. I don't want you to look shocked and horrified because that's going to knock him. That was hard." "Andrew doesn't know I've ever done that," his wife confessed. "I'm so grateful to all those people. I still had a husband, the kids still had their dad. I'm very aware that there are other people going through far worse things without the help we've had." The initial facial surgery took five hours. Wools didn't cry when she saw her husband the first time. "I've never seen someone so scared in those eyes," she remembered. "He was looking at me. To know how bad he was. I totally pulled myself together. I didn't cry." Instead she told him: "I can't believe how amazing you look." Mr Jahrad Haq was the Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon at St George's hospital who was on call the day Flintoff had the crash in December 2022. The surgeon detailed the extent of the former Top Gear presenter's "very complex" facial injuries. "For past 20 years of seeing maxillofacial trauma I'd put in the top five," he said. "He had a mixture of hard tissue and soft tissues injuries. Broken teeth, lost teeth. Elements of the upper jawbone fractured and displaced. It's very unusual that you lose soft tissue, that you lose skin. He lost a significant portion of his upper lip, underlying muscle, his lower lip." The surgeon also compared rebuilding a face to a "jigsaw puzzle". "Almost always the pieces are there," he said. "In Andrew's case, they weren't." Now, Flintoff has revealed he has been able to move on with his life. He told the cameras: "I try to take the attitude, you know what, the sun will come up tomorrow, my kids will still give me a hug. I'm probably in a better place now." His wife hailed cricket for saving her husband's life. Watch Flintoff on Disney+ from Friday 25 April.
The Independent
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Freddie Flintoff makes shock admission in new documentary
Former cricketer Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff revealed in a new Disney+ documentary, Flintoff, that he wished he had died in his 2022 Top Gear crash. The accident, which occurred while filming at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, left Flintoff with severe facial injuries and broken ribs. He credits his cricket instincts with saving his life, recalling a split-second decision to protect his head during the crash. The crash resulted in a £9m compensation payout for Flintoff and the indefinite suspension of Top Gear 's production. Flintoff also revealed lingering anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks from the incident.
RTÉ News
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Top Gear presenter discusses trauma post-crash
British Top Gear presenter and cricketer Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff has admitted that a part of him wished he had died after his crash at the Top Gear test track. The 47-year-old A league of their Own panellist speaks about the accident in a new Disney+ documentary, which includes graphic photos of his wounds and commentary from an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who witnessed his injuries. At one stage, he says: "After the accident I didn't think I had it in me to get through. This sounds awful … part of me wishes I'd been killed. Part of me thinks, I wish I'd died. "I didn't want to kill myself … I wouldn't mistake the two things. "I was not wishing, I was just thinking, 'this would have been so much easier'. "Now I try to take the attitude that the sun will come up tomorrow and my kids will still give me a hug. I'm probably in a better place now." Reflecting on his recovery, the former England cricket captain says his then three-and-a-half-year-old son Preston "wouldn't come near me". "I think it frightened him, my face, it frightened me. That was heartbreaking," he says in the film. "I've got PTSD and I get anxious, for periods of time, I just find myself crying for no particular reason." Flintoff also said that he relives the crash every night when he goes to bed and described the experience as a "vivid" movie. "Even the memories of it are real, to the point where now I'm talking about it and I'm getting a bit jittery and I can feel the pain on the side of my face", he says. "I can feel like a phantom pain. It's like a bit of a curse, really." Former Top Gear presenter Flintoff was taken to hospital after he was hurt while filming the BBC motoring show at its test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022. Recalling the accident, he says: "I thought I was dead because I was conscious but I couldn't see anything. "I was thinking 'is that it?'". He added: "My biggest fear was, I didn't think I had a face. I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death." The BBC "rested" Top Gear for the foreseeable future in 2023 after reaching a financial settlement with Flintoff, an agreement reportedly worth around £9million. In the documentary Flintoff appears resentful about the entertainment culture he was involved in, likening it to his own injury-ravaged playing career. "Everybody wants more. Everybody want to dig that bit deeper," he says. Flintoff also speaks about his relationship with alcohol and experience with bulimia in the 90-minute documentary. Comedian Jack Whitehall and actor and TV presenter James Corden, who appeared alongside him on A League Of Their Own, feature in the film, with Whitehall admitting that he was bulimic when he started his television career. Speaking ahead of the documentary's premiere, Flintoff said that he been asked to do autobiographical-style pieces before "and always found it a bit embarrassing." "The nice thing I suppose from a cricket sense is looking back on it, on a cricket career, which I don't tend to do to be honest, I tend to look forward," he said. He added: "For me, I think people watch it and make their own minds up about me. "I'm not trying to influence that. I've made it. It's gonna be out there, and it's up to people to decide. I'm sure there'll be some opinions." Referencing the crash, he said: "It took a while, it's been hard. It's still a work in progress. I'm different but I'm all right." Speaking about the future, he added: "I'm comfortable in what I'm doing now. I really enjoy it. You know, I do the odd TV job but I'm happy". Flintoff led the Northern Superchargers in the most recent edition of The Hundred and in December 2024 he presented a festive version of darts-themed game show Bullseye on ITV. Flintoff will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Friday April 25.
Irish Daily Mirror
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Andrew Flintoff says part of him 'wished he had died' after Top Gear crash
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff has revealed that he sometimes wished he had died following his horrific crash on the Top Gear test track. The 47-year-old opens up about the harrowing experience in a new Disney+ documentary, which features stark images of his injuries and insights from an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who saw the aftermath firsthand. At one stage, he says: "After the accident I didn't think I had it in me to get through. This sounds awful ... part of me wishes I'd been killed. Part of me thinks, I wish I'd died. "I didn't want to kill myself ... I wouldn't mistake the two things. "I was not wishing, I was just thinking, 'this would have been so much easier'. "Now I try to take the attitude that the sun will come up tomorrow and my kids will still give me a hug. I'm probably in a better place now." Reflecting on his recovery, the former England cricket captain says his then three-and-a-half-year-old son Preston "wouldn't come near me". "I think it frightened him, my face, it frightened me. That was heartbreaking," he says in the film. "I've got PTSD and I get anxious, for periods of time, I just find myself crying for no particular reason." Flintoff also said that he relives the crash every night when he goes to bed and described the experience as a "vivid" movie. "Even the memories of it are real, to the point where now I'm talking about it and I'm getting a bit jittery and I can feel the pain on the side of my face", he says. "I can feel like a phantom pain. It's like a bit of a curse, really." Former Top Gear presenter Flintoff was taken to hospital after he was hurt while filming the BBC motoring show at its test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022. Recalling the accident, he says: "I thought I was dead because I was conscious but I couldn't see anything. "I was thinking 'is that it?'". He added: "My biggest fear was, I didn't think I had a face. I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death." The BBC "rested" Top Gear for the foreseeable future in 2023 after reaching a financial settlement with Flintoff, an agreement reportedly worth around £9million. In the documentary Flintoff appears resentful about the entertainment culture he was involved in, likening it to his own injury-ravaged playing career. "Everybody wants more. Everybody want to dig that bit deeper," he says. Flintoff also speaks about his relationship with alcohol and experience with bulimia in the 90-minute documentary. Comedian Jack Whitehall and actor and TV presenter James Corden, who appeared alongside him on A League Of Their Own, feature in the film, with Whitehall admitting that he was bulimic when he started his television career. Speaking ahead of the documentary's premiere, Flintoff told the PA news agency that he been asked to do autobiographical-style pieces before "and always found it a bit embarrassing." "The nice thing I suppose from a cricket sense is looking back on it, on a cricket career, which I don't tend to do to be honest, I tend to look forward," he said. He added: "For me, I think people watch it and make their own minds up about me. "I'm not trying to influence that. I've made it. It's gonna be out there, and it's up to people to decide. I'm sure there'll be some opinions." Referencing the crash, he said: "It took a while, it's been hard. It's still a work in progress. I'm different but I'm all right." Speaking about the future, he added: "I'm comfortable in what I'm doing now. I really enjoy it. You know, I do the odd TV job but I'm happy". Flintoff led the Northern Superchargers in the most recent edition of The Hundred and in December 2024 he presented a festive version of darts-themed game show Bullseye on ITV. Flintoff will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Friday April 25.
