Freddie Flintoff is back this Sunday as he continues to host a reworked version of the hit ITV show Bullseye and the cricket icon is no stranger to some on-screen controversy
Freddie Flintoff is back on TV as he continues to host a revamped Bullseye(Image: ITV)
Freddie Flintoff once clashed with a former England rugby star on a television panel show. What started as some playful sledging turned into a genuine feud.
After a cricketing career that saw him muster nearly 4,000 test runs and take 226 test wickets, Flintoff transitioned into television. Sky’s A League of Their Own made the Englishman a team captain on their show in 2010 and Flintoff spent 12 years in this role.
But it was when James Haskell, who made 77 appearances for his country’s rugby team, appeared on a show that was filmed in 2014 that led to the infamous incident. The former rugby star made a sly dig at Flintoff’s boxing career, which proved to be the spark that ignited a physical clash and led to a drawn-out war of words.
Flintoff was made to judge Haskell’s juggling skills and quickly admitted: “To be honest, I expected more.” Haskell was quick to retort and clapped back by saying: “After watching you box, I think it would be fair to say we expected more as well.”
The cricket hero had just one professional boxing brawl in 2012 when he beat American Richard Dawson on a points decision. He was knocked down in the bout but got up to continue and was named the victor.
Haskell’s jibe left the audience in fits of laughter and Flintoff, who is back on TV hosting the ITV hit Bullseye after a life-altering crash while filming for Top Gear, did not take kindly to it.
The pair began with a routine pillow fight(Image: Sky)
In 2016, Haskell was invited back on the show to settle this bad blood with a pillow fight. According to the former rugby star, the suggestion to “make it look like a scrap” came from Flintoff. This detail was not known to A League of Their Own viewers.
The pair staged a Gladiators-esque battle on an inflatable set-up and Flintoff came away victorious after he knocked Haskell off. However, the cricket legend continued to hit Haskell even after he had been defeated.
Ex-Wasps star Haskell then pushed Flintoff to the ground and the two started pushing and jostling with one another. Comedian Jack Whitehall ran over to break things up as the previous cheering audience quieted.
Haskell and Flintoff then began barging one another(Image: Sky)
This skit didn’t fool many people online despite the audience going hush and some claimed the two were “bad actors.” In his autobiography, Ruck Me, Haskell explained: “When the show aired it went mental.
“I had messaged Freddie after the show to say thank you again and for him to keep smashing it. I also asked him, if I sent him a cricket bat to sign for this ill little boy would he do it, as Freddie was his hero. He just ignored me and that was it.”
Despite this alleged snub made by Flintoff, Haskell decided to put the situation on ice and didn’t think of it until the new series of A League of Their Own began.
He continued: “I thought f*** it, just move on. Then when the next series started, Freddie was shown highlights of our head-to-head and said, ‘Yeah, that Haskell was a bit of a d***.’
Comedian Whitehall had to split up the two(Image: Sky)
“I still hear about it today, with trolls saying, ‘You’re a c***,’ and ‘You got beaten up by Flintoff,’ when the reality is, I’m not, I didn’t and I wouldn’t.”
The feud seemed to have been taken a bit too far in Haskell’s mind but continued further when he had another pop at Flintoff as the rugby hero made the switch to professional fighting.
After announcing he would compete in Bellator MMA back in 2019 he told Press Association: “You have to respect Freddie for getting in the ring, but I am very different, this is a different sport and I am taking it much more seriously.”