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Andrew Flintoff and wife Rachel pictured in 2018(Image: GOR\/GC Images)<\/p>\nFormer England cricketer Freddie Flintoff is back on TV on Sunday in a new series of his BBC showAndrew Flintoff and wife Rachel pictured in 2018(Image: GOR\/GC Images)<\/p>\n
England cricket legend Freddie Flintoff returns to our screens this evening in the third series of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams.<\/p>\n
After the enormous success of the first two series, 47-year-old Flintoff is taking on what he describes at his biggest challenge yet.<\/p>\n
This time the former all-rounder will attempt to form boys’ teams in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool while also attempting to create his first-ever girls team in Blackpool.<\/p>\n
This new venture comes nearly three years after he suffered serious injuries in a collision while filming for Top Gear at the close of 2022, an incident that left him with profound scars both physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n
The broadcaster had been operating an open-topped three-wheeler around the programme’s test track at speeds of approximately 130mph before it overturned in freezing conditions.<\/p>\n
While he had decelerated to 22mph at that moment, his face was scraped along the road surface as he wasn’t wearing protective headgear and there was allegedly no airbag fitted in the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Consequently, he suffered serious facial trauma and numerous fractured ribs from the collision and was instantly rushed to hospital for what was described as four hours of surgical treatment.<\/p>\n
His wife Rachael, who dashed from the family’s Altrincham residence to the Surrey hospital where he was receiving care, was even cautioned by a surgeon to “expect the worst”, while his son Corey subsequently revealed he was fortunate to survive.<\/p>\n
A surgeon who treated Flintoff disclosed that the “very complex” injuries he sustained included hard and soft tissue damage, broken and lost teeth, and fractures and displacement to part of the upper jaw bone.<\/p>\n
Despite surviving, Flintoff has been left with significant scarring and has struggled with mental health issues – including anxiety, flashbacks, and nightmares – since the accident.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the incident, he confessed he was already “struggling already” as he faced a “long road” to recovery.<\/p>\n
“Week and a half after my accident,” he shared in a hospital-recorded video. “Genuinely should not be here after what happened.<\/p>\n
“This is going to be a long road back and I have only just started and I am struggling already. I need help. I really am not the best at asking for it. I need to stop crying every two minutes.”<\/p>\n
Months after the incident, he admitted the recovery process had been much more challenging than he anticipated, explaining: “I thought I could just shake it off, I want to shake it off and say ‘here I am, I am alright’ but it has not been the case, it has been a lot harder than I thought.<\/p>\n
“I am struggling with my anxiety, I have nightmares, I have flashbacks, it has been so hard to cope with,” he added, admitting that he didn’t know if he will ever feel “100 per cent” again.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know what completely better is,” said Flintoff. “I am what I am now, I am different to what I was. That is something I will probably have to deal with for the rest of my life. Better? No. Different.”<\/p>\n