Inside Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness's fraught friendship after crash changed everything

The aftermath of almost three years ago has impacted his life in ways few could have imagined. At the time, he was hosting when a high-speed accident brought everything to a sudden halt.

The former star He was airlifted to hospital after his car flipped over while filming for the show at the Dunsford Park Aerodrome, resulting in severe facial injuries, including deep lacerations and the loss of his front teeth, as well as broken ribs.

Since then, nothing has been quite the same for him, including his once-tight friendship with co-presenter - who he hasn't seen since 2022. Flintoff, 47, and McGuinness, 51, began their partnership in 2019 when they joined Top Gear alongside Chris Harris. In 2020, Flintoff and McGuinness co-hosted Total Wipeout: Freddie and Paddy Takeover, a six-episode series where they narrated classic episodes of the game show.

But by last year, things had shifted. McGuinness revealed he hadn’t spoken to Flintoff in over 10 months. He told The Sun last year: “Who knows what he must be going through? I still see his wife and we still chat, and we have the same barber, and it's all lovely.

“I messaged Fred recently saying, 'Look, I can’t begin to think what you’re going through but rather than me bombarding you with loads of messages, which can be annoying, if you can’t be a***d with that, I’m always here. I hope you’re well and please God, I’ll see you soon."

He continued: “You just can’t begin to put yourself into his shoes. No one can know what’s going on in his head.” Paddy was one of the first to speak out following his close friend following his accident.

On , he shared a heartfelt message of support, writing: “Had so many well wishes and positivity for the big lad these last few years. @aflintoff11 is loved and will be up and at ‘um before you know it! The three of us are back this Sunday with more new @topgear including a trip to Italy, best family cars, and our very own postal service! We obviously filmed this ep earlier in the year.”

Now speaking out about their relationship in a new Disney+ documentary, Flintoff emotionally opened up about how staying in touch with Paddy and Chris has become too emotionally draining for him to handle following his crash. “We’ve been in contact…but I feel bad He added: “Part of it is, for myself a little bit, you know what I mean? I hate the word ‘triggering’, but I’m worried about that."

He also revealed the deep guilt he feels over how his accident has affected the careers of those closest to him. Freddie added: “[The show] is something that stopped, in some ways, because of what happened to me. Their careers have been altered as well so I feel, not guilty, but I feel bad for them. And also, it's like, what happened gets dragged up enough on my own, without adding to that.”

But there is no bad blood between the pair, with Paddy now "I love Fred. He’s a good lad," he said. "The mad thing about me getting on with him so well is that I know absolutely zero about cricket. I've never watched it, never been into it and never played it. I knew of Freddie and Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan...the famous names."

He revealed they message from time to time as he reflected: “Me, Fred and Chris [Harris] everyday we worked together we just laughed. It was such a lovely experience."

In the new bombshell doc, Freddie didn’t hold back as he tragically admitted he felt he should’ve “died” after his crash. "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,” he solemnly shared. "I didn’t want to kill myself, I wouldn’t mistake the two things. But I was thinking: this would have been so much easier.” After life-shattering Freddie’s incident, the BBC halted production of the 34th series of Top Gear and later announced that the show would be "rested for the foreseeable future".

Flintoff was reported to have been "seriously emotionally and physically affected by the crash" and felt unable to continue in his role. He received a £9 million settlement from the BBC and has since returned to television with new projects, including hosting a special edition of Bullseye and fronting the Disney+ documentary, which chronicles his recovery journey.

He has slowly begun to move forward, as he returned to the screens. Opening up about his role on the beloved game show reboot, he previously said: “I love the darts and Bullseye was one of my favourite shows as a kid. I can't quite believe I'll get to host this special. Then, echoing one of Jim’s famous catchphrases, he added: 'You can't beat a bit of Bully!'"

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