Andrew Flintoff opened his doors on his relationship with the former co-host of Top Gear Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris more than two years after his almost deadly car accident in December 2022.
The former cricket star in England who became a television presenter ended up with horrible injuries after the car he was testing on the BBC automobile show turned and slipped along the Dunsfold Park aerodrome track in Surrey.
The vehicle had no inflatable bags and the accident left Flintoff with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs.
Flintoff – which is also known by its nickname, Freddie – did not leave his house for about six to seven months when the public was initially kept in the ignorance of the serious injured after being trailled along the track, facing down, for 50 meters.
But, in a new Disney + documentary entitled “Flintoff”, which takes on an intimate and unprecedented look in the 47 -year life, lively details of the accident and its subsequent recovery is exposed.
And, in the 98 -minute program, Flintoff revealed that he had barely spoken to McGuiness and Harris, despite an extremely close link with the pair during the series.
Andrew Flintoff opened his relationship with Paddy McGuinness in a new documentary
Flintoff was found with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs after an almost deadly car accident when he turned the BBC Motoring Show Top Gear alongside McGuinness in December 2022
Flintoff (photo in 2018) revealed that he had barely spoken to McGuiness or Chris Harris
“We were in contact,” he said. “When I saw Chris, we got rid of, he turned upside down and I got a little upset.
“I feel bad, I was not more in contact with him and Paddy. I think there were comments that I did not speak with Paddy for a while and a game is a bit for me.
“I hate the word triggering … But I’m worried. It is also something that has stopped because of what happened to me. Their careers were also interrupted.
“So I feel bad for them and also as what happened is dragged enough in my own head without adding to that (seeing them).”
During the eye -revealing documentary, Flintoff, who is one of the greatest cricket players in England and a star who transcended the sport, also spoke frankly about his battle to recover from injuries.
The surgeon Mr. Jahrad Haz, who appeared on the documentary, explained that the damage that Flintoff had suffered by Flintoff was in the first five trauma of the face which he had seen in more than 20 years of operation, with several graphic images of the injuries displayed during the program.
And Flintoff revealed in a heartbreaking way that at the points, he wanted him to survive the accident given the impact that it had on him.
“It’s difficult,” he said. “After the accident, I didn’t think I had it in me to pass. It seems horrible, but part of me wants to have been killed and that I am dead.
Non -acute images of the follow -up function in Disney + documentary of the legend of cricket
Flintoff revealed that keeping his distance from McGuiness was partly for his own recovery
The new Disney + documentary gives living details on the accident and its subsequent recovery
Flintoff reappeared in public life when he started working with England in September 2023
“I didn’t want to kill myself but I just didn’t want to, but I thought it would have been so much easier.”
The program also included the coverage of Flintoff’s return to public life and its ability to deal with the difficulties it was confronted.
“Now, I’m trying to take the attitude that the sun will get up tomorrow and my children will always hug me,” he added. “And I’m probably in a better place now.
Flintoff revealed that he still has trouble with the nightmares about the accident with the SSPT and anxiety, but he opened on the positive impact that the return to cricket had on his well-being.
In 2023, he joined the staff of England coaches as a mentor of an Odi series against New Zealand.
Since then, he has worked in a variety of roles with the White Balle-Balle team, spent time with England under 19, while he is also head coach of Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.
He was then appointed patron of England Lions, in fact the second team of England last September, and he was largely congratulated for his impact by several players.
And his wife Rachael Wools Flintoff, who appears in a good place in the documentary, added: “I think the cricket saved him. This gave him a reason to be again.
Flintoff is available exclusively on Disney + in the United Kingdom and Ireland from Friday, April 25.
