Freddie Flintoff speaks publicly for the first time since Top Gear crash

Freddie Flintoff has made his first public speech since he suffered facial injuries in an accident while shooting for Top Gear.

The former England captain, 45, was hospitalised in December 2022 after a crash, putting a halt to filming the TV series.

The all-rounder, who played in 79 Tests and 141 one-day matches for England, kept a low profile following the accident, and was only pictured for the first time in September.

In a video posted to social media, Flintoff gives a touching speech before presenting Tom Hartley his One Day International (ODI) cap.

He said: "When you get this cap, it changes your life.

"This enables you to walk tall and move faster.

"Play with passion, play with pride, play with belief."

Flintoff, from Preston, adds: "You'll be part of a family of people, they'll share the good times with you, the successes.

"But as I have found over the past few months, they'll be there in the hardest times of your life.

"So like the lion on the cap. Be brave, be fearless, be proud."

A statement from BBC Studios earlier this year said it had "concluded its investigation into the accident at the Top Gear Test Track in Surrey last December, which regrettably injured presenter Freddie Flintoff”.

It continued: “We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery. Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time.

“We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year.

"This has also impacted the production team, who we continue to support.”

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