Paul Rees, who has revealed himself as The Stig for the first time, has recalled the harrowing details of Freddie Flintoff's Top Gear crash, which he claims left them both with severe injuries. Rees thought Flintoff was going to die as he was 'sprayed' with his blood when a stunt went horrifically wrong.
Rees, who was the Stig between 2019 and 2022, was sitting beside Flintoff when the roofless three-wheeled vehicle they were driving flipped over at Top Gear's test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022. Flintoff suffered broken and lost teeth, fractures to the upper jawbone and injuries to his ribs.
Rees recalls the crash
Speaking to The Sun, Rees said: 'I was getting wet and I was like, “why am I getting wet?” because it wasn’t fuel or anything like that. Then my vision went red and I now know that was blood from Fred just spraying me in the face.'
'I remember thinking that if we can get out of this and be in wheelchairs, we’re lucky,' said Rees, adding he thought there was 'no way' Flintoff could survive. He recalled: 'Fred was hunched over on top of me. I pulled him back next to me, took one look at him and I thought he was dead. I thought there’s no way someone could take an injury to the face like that and survive. I could hear a gurgling noise, and I could see his chest going up and down. It was like a war injury, something you see in the movies. We just went into, “We need to save him” mode.'
Legal action and BBC response
Court documents reveal Paul Rees is suing for damages in excess of £100,000 for personal injury. He claimed he 'highlighted' the risks of the stunt with the BBC but says they were 'not listened to.' In a legal response, BBC Studios said Rees did not complain of any injuries at the time or after the crash. The company also denied it was negligent 'as alleged or at all' and said Rees' 'faulty instructions' led to the accident.
According to the available court documents, there were microphones in the car, and BBC Studios said Flintoff expressed concern at one point. It's said the car's front wheel lifted as he took a corner, but the presenter was allegedly reassured by Rees that it could not roll over. BBC Studios' defence filings allege that when Flintoff was approaching the same corner again, Rees told the star to 'now turn right... now full power, full power'. It's claimed in the document that 'a front wheel lifted and because on the claimant's instruction the presenter continued to apply power the Morgan turned over'.
A BBC Studios spokesperson said: 'We dispute this claim and are defending it. As it's now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.'
