Top Gear's Chris Harris offers update on Freddie Flintoff recovery
"I’m just over the moon that my friend Fred is still with us."
While the future of Top Gear hangs in the balance after presenter Freddie Flintoff's serious car crash last year, it does look as though the former cricketer and Top Gear presenter is on a road to recovery, according to Chris Harris.
Speaking to The Times to promote his new memoir, Harris, who co-presented the show with Flintoff and Paddy McGuiness, said: "I’m just over the moon that my friend Fred is still with us.
"If there is only one good thing that comes out of it, it is that there’s been dignity. Fred’s been given the time to heal. It’s been a tough time. I defy anyone to not care about their friends if they get injured. I do."
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In the memoir, Harris writes that "my world has fallen apart a little bit".
When asked by The Times whether this was in part due to what happened to Flintoff and the uncertainty surrounding Top Gear's future, Harris said: "I think so, yes... not working is a really bad thing for someone who’s active and busy. If you haven’t got stuff to go and do, then I think that’s a problem."
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Harris joined Top Gear in 2016 but co-hosted the show with Flintoff since 2019. Flintoff's accident in December 2022 saw him rushed to hospital via air ambulance after being involved in a high speed crash during filming at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
Flintoff was seen in public for the first time since the crash this past September, attending the one-day cricket international between England and New Zealand at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Also appearing on BBC Breakfast, Harris offered up another update on Flintoff, saying: "I think he's healing. It was a serious incident. I’m not going say any more than that.
"As I’ve said in the book and in the few interviews I’ve given, I’m so proud of the fact that team Top Gear kept everything quiet and we were dignified."
He added: "As long as he’s healing, it’s great to see him out and about being passionate about cricket. I’m sad I’m not doing Top Gear with him at the moment, but that’s life, it’s the best thing for him right now."
Read more:
- BBC says Top Gear hasn't been axed – decision yet to be made on future
- Top Gear 'won't return' as team 'dismantled' after Freddie Flintoff crash
Seeing as Top Gear hasn't been on our screens for a while, rumours continued to swirl about the show's future, with the BBC denying reports last month that the long-running series had been cancelled.
The Sun reported that production staff on the show had been told to focus on other work, and that there was "no way" that it could continue after presenter Flintoff's crash last year.
But the BBC released a statement rebuking the claims, saying: "A decision on the timing of future Top Gear shows will be made in due course with BBC Content."
RadioTimes.com understands that a health and safety review of the show is still ongoing, with a decision on the timing of any future Top Gear instalments to follow in due course.
All previous seasons of Top Gear are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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