Freddie Flintoff gets set for TV comeback as he films new project after horror Top Gear crash – as latest photos show his injuries are healing

Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is gearing up for his TV comeback as he films a new project this week – after a horror crash on Top Gear put him out of action for months.

The Ashes hero, 46, is now filming a second series of his BBC cricket show Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams.

It comes as new photos of him out and about show his facial injuries looking significantly more healed than during his last public appearance seven months ago in September 2023.

Freddie was ‘lucky to be alive’ after his 130mph three-wheel open-top Morgan Super 3 car, which had no airbags, overturned in December 2022, leaving him with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs.

After the near-fatal crash, the BBC announced it would be putting Top Gear on hiatus – and last November it was rested for the ‘foreseeable future’.

Freddie, who is still recovering from his ‘life-changing significant’ injuries, is believed to have negotiated a £9million settlement with the company for two years’ loss of earnings as a result of the crash.

A source said The sun of his return to filming: ‘This will be a great comfort to his fans as it shows he is healing well and returning to two of his greatest passions – sport and television.

‘Obviously there is some scarring, as everyone expected, but Freddie seems to have made a lot of progress since he was last seen playing cricket in public.

‘He’s clearly comfortable enough to be in front of a camera again – something that wasn’t the case this time last year.

‘They’re a nervous first step as he’s recovering both mentally and physically, but the TV show he’s doing is a real passion project for him.’

The first Field of Dreams series saw him return to his home town of Preston to recruit youngsters to the sport.

In the next series, he takes them to India – where the sport is hugely popular.

The new pictures of Freddie were taken in Sri Lanka where he recently met members of the touring Lancashire Cricket Academy.

He was all smiles as he posed with Sri Lankan cricket coach Muttiah Muralitharan.

Flintoff was driving a Morgan Super 3 – a lightweight ‘trackday’ sports car with two wheels at the front and one at the rear – at the Dunsfold test track near Guildford, Surrey on 13 December 2022 when it overturned.

The open-top car has no airbags and the cricketer was not wearing a helmet when the car overturned at around 22km/h – meaning he ‘scraped’ his face along the tarmac in horrific scenes witnessed by TV production crews.

Flintoff reportedly required a series of operations following the crash and suffered broken ribs and facial bones after being dragged along the road.

Several members of staff who watched it went on sick leave after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder – a claim the BBC has denied.

He retired from the limelight at the behest of his family to recuperate, and broke cover for the first time last year to coach England cricketers.

Photographed in public for the first time since the crash in September, Flintoff had visible facial injuries as he joined the squad for their one-day international series against New Zealand.

Flintoff had joined Top Gear as host in 2019 alongside Paddy McGuinness. They joined Chris Harris from the 27th series of the BBC Two show in the main series.

In a statement on Top Gear in November, the BBC said: ‘Given the extraordinary circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.

‘The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy, who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we are excited about new projects being developed with each of them.

‘We will have more to say in the near future about this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it’s the right thing to do.

‘All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus, including international formats, digital, magazines and licences.’