{"id":46240,"date":"2025-04-24T09:25:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/46240\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T09:25:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T09:25:09","slug":"freddie-flintoff-documentary-review-nothing-could-prepare-me-for-the-no-holds-barred-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/46240\/","title":{"rendered":"Freddie Flintoff documentary review: Nothing could prepare me for the no-holds-barred film"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019ll hold my hands up: I know very little about Freddie Flintoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen enough to know he was clearly a lovely bloke, his real name is Andrew, he had a sense of humour popular enough to carve out a wildly successful television career (unheard of for a cricket player) and that his life almost ended <\/a>when he flipped an open-topped car driving at 130 mph, sliding along a test track used to film BBC<\/a>\u2019s Top Gear<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, I went into the Disney Plus documentary, Flintoff, <\/a>in the dark knowing nothing other than this would be the first time he\u2019s ever spoken about the moment he almost died in such graphic detail.<\/p>\n

But I could be a lifelong Freddie fan, thought I\u2019d known every detail about his life and career yet, still, nothing could have prepared me for how extraordinary his tell-all film would be.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit, I came for details about the crash. For the last two years, it\u2019s been one of the most shocking stories imaginable, and the details have largely \u2013 and understandably \u2013 been kept under lock and key.<\/p>\n

Top Gear was subsequently taken off air<\/a> for the foreseeable future, and Freddie spent months as a total recluse, only leaving the house to see his plastic surgeons and dentist.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Freddie
\n\t\tFreddie Flintoff is picking up the pieces of his life in Flintoff (Picture: Kerry Spicer)<\/p>\n

Aside from brief moments in his hugely-acclaimed BBC series Field of Dreams, his first foray back into television since the crash, we\u2019ve heard very little from Freddie about the crash.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, it didn\u2019t come up during his one-off revival episode of Bullseye<\/a><\/p>\n

But even when Freddie wasn\u2019t ready to face the public or even close friends, he let cameras into his home for the most unfiltered high-profile celebrity documentary I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

Flintoff dives straight in with Freddie about to enter an appointment with his surgeon. He looks defeated, predicting he\u2019ll get the same update he\u2019s heard time and time again.<\/p>\n

At this point, he\u2019s still completely broken. It\u2019s impossible to imagine who he was right after the crash but he and those who were there at the scene and by his bedside do their best to explain.<\/p>\n

His agent weeps as she recalls being the first person to see him out of surgery, his face barely visible other than his eyes, which were \u2018terrified\u2019.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Freddie
\n\t\tFreddie leaves no stone unturned in Flintoff (Picture: Enterprise News and Pictures)<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s my job to make things better\u2026 I couldn\u2019t make this better\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

The details are perhaps not surprising but they are overwhelming at times to hear.<\/p>\n

Freddie had seconds to make a decision that ultimately saved his life.<\/p>\n

After years of having weighty cricket balls flying towards him at 80mph, Freddie knew where the impact would kill him, his instinct kicked in and he knew he\u2019d have to let the front of his face take the entire impact of the crash, his jaw, nose, teeth and eyes dragging along the track for 50 meters.<\/p>\n

\u2018I thought my face had come off,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

Images show he wasn\u2019t far from the truth. Weaved between footage of the collision are photos of his face taken moments later, his top lip missing and chunks of soft tissue completely gone.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Freddie
\n\t\tFreddie is one of the best documentaries you could ever watch (Picture: Kerry Spicer\/Disney+)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Steve
\n\t\tFlintoff is an extraordinary account of a remarkable career (Picture: Graham Chadwick\/Daily Mail\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

At one point, he goes as far as admitting he \u2018wished he\u2019d died\u2019 after the collision, thinking about the uphill battle ahead of him. <\/p>\n

After getting the nightmarish elephant in the room out of the way, Flintoff is a perfectly balanced film about an extraordinary man\u2019s life, career and recovery.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t pretend I knew anything about the world of cricket other than once playing Brian Lara Cricket on the Sega Mega Drive in 1994 and deciding it was not the sport for me.<\/p>\n

Watching Andrew\u2019s rise and rise to becoming national hero Freddie Flintoff, one of the best sporting heroes this country has ever produced, was more compelling than I ever imagined.<\/p>\n

I was one of the few Brits who managed to completely switch off from the buzz of the 2005 Ashes when Flintoff was responsible for pulling off one of the most impossible comebacks in history against Australia.<\/p>\n

While the streets were lined with fans \u2013 including many who had never seen a cricket match until they\u2019d caught wind of this lager-lout champion \u2013 I was busy practicing Britney Spears choreography alone in my room and watching bird noises play out on the Big Brother live stream.<\/p>\n

Turns out I missed one of the most remarkable celebrations in British history.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"SOUTHAMPTON,
\n\t\tFreddie says cricket saved him after the crash (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no hiding away from his very public struggles after becoming a nation\u2019s hero. Freddie and his inner circle are frank about his relationship with alcohol, which was celebrated as part of his charm and even the reason behind his success.<\/p>\n

His teammates suggest he played better on the pitch when he\u2019d let loose.<\/p>\n

Brits too adored a sporting hero as talented at downing pints as winning matches, a killer combo for someone already prone to drinking more than the average Wetherspoons customer.<\/p>\n

While the public lauded him for his drinking, they punished him too.<\/p>\n

He reflects on the moment he sank too much rum and took a pedalo out to Ian Botham\u2019s boat and had to be helped back to shore by hotel staff. His title as vice-captain of England was stripped, with a fickle press calling the incident his \u2018fall from grace\u2019.<\/p>\n

At one point, he admits that if he could go back in time, he wouldn\u2019t have touched a drop of alcohol, even if being sober could have jeopardised his sporting career.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the door on Freddie\u2019s cricket career abruptly closed at 31, another door was held open by James Corden, who pushed him into television. That\u2019s the Freddie I\u2019m more familiar with, a lord of the lads on shows like A League Of Their Own and Top Gear.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Paddy
\n\t\tFreddie explains why he hasn\u2019t been able to talk to his Top Gear co-stars Paddy McGuinnes and Chris Harris (Picture: Geoff Pugh\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

Clearly, it doesn\u2019t light the same fire in him as cricket. He admits chasing the same high with daredevil stunts, which eventually almost killed him.<\/p>\n

Top Gear or the BBC barely gets mentioned among details of the crash and it\u2019s not until near the end of the film it becomes clear his former co-hosts Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris won\u2019t be making an appearance.<\/p>\n

Paddy previously confirmed he still hasn\u2019t spoken to Freddie since the crash and in Flintoff we learn why.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2018I hate the word \u201ctriggering\u201d but I\u2019m worried about that. It\u2019s also something [that] stopped in some ways because of what happened to me,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018Their careers have been altered as well, so I feel, not guilty, but I feel bad for them. And also it\u2019s like, what happened gets dragged up enough in my own head without adding to that.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a testament to Freddie\u2019s courage and determination to look forward that he\u2019s done this documentary at all. When so many similar films feel motivated by good publicity, Flintoff genuinely feels like a ground-breaking moment in storytelling.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t sensationalised, it doesn\u2019t leave a stone unturned, but this has a much greater purpose than self-promotion or headline-grabbing.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s impossible not to be drenched in admiration for one of the greatest sporting heroes and TV personalities of a generation, even if, at times, like his friend Jack Whitehall says, it\u2019 feels like we\u2019re talking about him like he\u2019s dead\u2019.<\/p>\n

By a miracle, though, he is still very much alive and looking forward to a life which might not look like the one he had planned, but one he is very thankful for.<\/p>\n

Flintoff is available to stream on Disney Plus from April 25.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: Freddie Flintoff reveals traumatising details of Top Gear crash: \u2018I thought my face came off\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: Full details of Freddie Flintoff\u2019s injuries ahead of explosive tell-all documentary<\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: 10 years after Jeremy Clarkson punched Top Gear producer his career has never been brighter<\/a><\/p>\n

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