BBC 'halts' Top Gear production for 'foreseeable future' following Freddie Flintoff crash

dailyrecord.co.uk:

BBC hit motoring show Top Gear will be halted for the “foreseeable future” following a crash during filming last year which left host Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff seriously injured.Production of the show has since come to a standstill when former England cricket captain Flintoff, 45, was rushed to hospital in December 2022 after he was injured in an accident at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.The BBC announced that production would be paused on the show, which is co-presented by Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness and automotive journalist Chris Harris, after the crash as it felt “inappropriate” to continue and that a health and safety review would be underway.

In a statement given to the PA news agency, the BBC said: “Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.“The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.“We will have more to say in the near future on this.

We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.”“All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.”The UK show is currently sold to more than 150 territories and there are 11 local format versions including in the United States, France and Finland.Top Gear magazine is the world’s largest monthly motoring magazine with 30 licensed local editions, including China, France and JapanIn addition, BBC Studios said a health and safety production review of Top Gear, which did not cover the accident but instead looked at previous