BBC makes ‘heartbreaking’ final decision on future of Top Gear 10 months after Freddie Flintoff’s horror crash
TOP Gear has reached the end of the road after 46 years — with bosses ruling there is no way back following the crash which almost killed Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff.
Insiders said production staff have been told to focus on other work.
The future of the BBC’s money-spinning show — a fan favourite sold around the world — was plunged into doubt when former cricket star Freddie suffered facial injuries and broken ribs on the test track in December.
A show source said: “Top Gear has been an institution on British telly but the feeling is there is no way it can continue after Freddie’s crash.
“The BBC are aware they very nearly lost a presenter’s life while filming a segment, and there’s a feeling it would be in bad taste to continue making such dangerous material.
“It’s a tough decision but they know deep down it’s the right one as hardcore fans of the show won’t want to see a lightweight version.”
Freddie’s Top Gear co-hosts Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris have yet to comment publicly about his crash.
And the fact the decision has been ten months in the making has irked production staff.
The Sun can reveal at least one is now planning to take legal action against the BBC for a loss of earnings.
The source added: “Things could get ugly as people connected with the show have lost so much due to the indecision of BBC bosses.
There could be more than a few big payouts coming.”
Freddie, 45, was so badly injured he has only recently returned to the public gaze, appearing alongside England one-day team’s backroom staff.
Earlier this week footage was released by the ECB, showing him delivering an emotional speech while handing Tom Hartley his first international cap.
Praising the cricketing family, Freddie said: “They’ll share the good times with you, the successes.
“But as I found over the past few months, they’ll be there during the hardest times of your life. They will stand next to you.
“When you get this cap, it changes your life. It’s one of those things.”
Freddie had to be airlifted to hospital after a three-wheel roadster flipped at high speed at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, Surrey.
The Top Gear track was famed for mystery racer The Stig’s superfast laps and the popular Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment which featured guests including Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsay.
Part of the site has since been sold for a 2,600-home redevelopment but fans hoped another location would be found.
However, some critics believed the show was past its best.
Top Gear first aired in 1977 when Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne as hosts on BBC Midlands, a year before the national network took it on.
It became a ratings hit after Jeremy Clarkson took over in 1988.
He left 11 years later but returned in 2002 for a relaunched version alongside Richard Hammond and Jason Dowe, later replaced by James May.
The three jumped ship in 2015 making way for a series of hosts including Friends actor Matt LeBlanc, racing supremo Eddie Jordan and broadcaster Chris Evans.
The Beeb’s commercial arm, BBC Studios, sold the franchise around the world, backed up by live events and merchandise ranges.
A series of international versions including in South Korea, China and France added to the series’ profitability.
46 years of high and lows
1977: TV presenter and now Strictly contestant Angela Rippon launched Top Gear when she hosted the format’s regional shows. She starred in 29 episodes
2002: After the original Top Gear was cancelled by the BBC the year before, Jeremy Clarkson approached bosses about turning it into a motoring magazine programme and it was relaunched.
2002: The show’s famous unidentifiable character The Stig also made his debut for the relaunch.
2006: Hammond had the most life-threatening of his several crashes. The dad-of-two was preparing a 288mph run in a jet-propelled Vampire Dragster — but was launched off the track when a front tyre failed. He was rushed to hospital with brain damage.
2007: Top Gear’s ninth series saw the show hit its peak viewing figures, with an average of 7.5million fans tuning in each week to watch Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
2008: Pop star Jay Kay, right, bottom, set a then fastest lap.
2010: Hollywood A-listers Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, right, centre, were guest stars.
2011: Mr Bean Rowan Atkinson, right, top, roared to the top of the lap board as the guest star in one episode.
2015: Clarkson was axed from Top Gear after punching show producer Oisin Tymon during a heated exchange. Following the news, Hammond and May quit the show in solidarity.
2016: Top Gear returned to the Beeb and has since had a number of presenters, including Friends star Matt LeBlanc, radio’s Chris Evans, motoring journalist Chris Harris, businessman Eddie Jordan, TV host Rory Reid and the late Sabine Schmitz, who died of cancer in 2021. Evans lasted just a year before quitting.
2019: The show had yet another hosting shake-up with LeBlanc and Reid departing. Jordan had left the year previous.
2019: Take Me Out’s Paddy McGuinness join Harris on the hosting line-up, as well as former cricketer Freddie Flintoff. The show got a promotion by station bosses to BBC One, which led to an increase of nearly two million viewers at its peak.
2022: Flintoff suffered facial injuries and broken ribs in a 130mph crash in an open-top three-wheeler while filming the new series.