Top Gear 'fully investigating' accident that led to Andrew Flintoff injury
Top Gear has stressed "all health and safety procedures" were followed ahead of host Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff’s injury during filming, confirming the incident is being "fully investigated".
Flintoff, 45, was taken to hospital to receive medical treatment on Tuesday morning, after being involved in an accident while shooting for the motoring show.
The incident happened as the former professional cricketer was at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
A spokesman for the show said: "Our primary concern is and has been for the welfare of Freddie - as well as the Top Gear team.
"All health and safety procedures were followed on site and the incident is now being fully investigated, in line with standard policy and practice."
Meanwhile, a BBC spokesperson said: "Freddie was injured in an accident at the Top Gear test track this morning – with crew medics attending the scene immediately.
"He has been taken to hospital for further treatment and we will confirm more details in due course."
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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it was "aware" of the incident and "making inquiries".
As an executive non-departmental public body, the HSE is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions.
It is procedure for the BBC to report the incident to the HSE and for inquiries to be made.
Flintoff, who was appointed England cricket captain twice - first in 2006 and 2007 - retired from the international stage in 2010, briefly returning to play for Lancashire four years later.
Following his successful sporting career he became a household name on television, joining various reality and panel shows and appearing as the face of supermarket brand Morrisons.
In 2010 he became a team captain on Sky’s A League Of Their Own, 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.
He was announced in October 2018, ahead of the show’s 27th series, as a new host of Top Gear alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.
Tuesday’s accident is not the first faced by Flintoff since he began working on the programme.
In February 2019, the presenter was involved in a minor incident when he crashed into a market stall in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
During September of the same year he crashed again while driving a three-wheel vehicle at a reported speed of 124mph.
In that particular incident Flintoff was filming for Top Gear at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, but walked away from the crash unharmed.
Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was involved in a serious crash at the same airfield in 2006, leaving him in a coma.