Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has disclosed that he lost all of his teeth in the serious accident he suffered while filming Top Gear in 2022. The former England cricket captain made the revelation during a stage appearance at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London on Tuesday night, where he spoke about the defining moments of his life and career.
The 47-year-old was injured when the Morgan Super 3 trike he was driving rolled over at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome. He sustained significant facial injuries, including losing a 'significant portion of his upper lip' and, as he now revealed, all of his own teeth. Surgeon Jahrad Haq, who treated Flintoff, described the injuries as 'very complex', involving hard and soft tissue damage, broken and missing teeth, and fractured and displaced elements of the upper jaw bone.
In a previous Disney+ documentary about the accident, Flintoff recalled fearing he was dead after the crash. "I thought I was dead, because I was conscious but I couldn't see anything," he said. "My hat came over my eyes - so I pulled my hat up and I thought, no I'm not [dead], I'm on the Top Gear track, this is not heaven." He also remembered the moment of impact: "As it started going over, I looked at the ground and I knew, if I get hit here on the side [of the head] then I'll break my neck, or if I get hit on the temple I'm dead. The best chance is to go face down."
Flintoff admitted that part of him wished he had died in the crash, though he stressed he never had suicidal thoughts. "This sounds awful. Part of me wishes I'd been killed," he said. "I didn't want to kill myself. I don't want to mistake the two things. I was not wishing, but thinking, this would have been so much easier... Now I try to take the attitude, you know what, the sun will come up tomorrow, and then my kids will still give me a hug."
Since recovering, Flintoff has returned to cricket, coaching the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred and the England Lions development squad. His wife, Rachael, credited the sport with his recovery: "When Andrew needed it most, cricket was there for him. It sounds a bit weird saying it, a bit over the top to say, but I do think cricket saved him. It gave him a reason for being, again." Top Gear was 'rested' by the BBC in 2023 and has not returned. Flintoff has since presented Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams and a rebooted version of Bullseye.
