Freddie Flintoff ‘did not depart home for six months’ after Prime Gear crash

Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has stated he didn’t depart the home for six months after his Prime Gear crash, which left him with each bodily and psychological scars.

The cricketer-turned-TV presenter sustained severe facial and rib accidents in a crash whereas filming the BBC motoring programme in 2022.

Talking concerning the incident on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Present, Flintoff stated he had struggled with “crippling anxiousness” within the wake of the crash and has suffered from flashbacks and nightmares.

The interview, to be broadcast on Saturday, comes forward of a Disney+ documentary which guarantees an “intimate and unprecedented look” at Flintoff’s sporting profession and his return to the general public eye after the crash.

“Afterwards, clearly there’s the bodily scars that I’ve received. However then the psychological facet of it,” he instructed Jonathan Ross.

“I did not depart the home for in all probability six or eight months. The one instances I used to be leaving the home was for medical appointments and surgical procedures,” he stated.

The previous England all-rounder additionally revealed he needed to have “about 5 or 6 goes at leaving the room” and “have a chat with myself within the mirror” to assist overcome his anxiousness earlier than returning to the world of cricket as a coach.

“I might not proven myself with out a face masks to anybody. It was like beginning once more.”

In a trailer launched on Thursday for the 90-minute Disney+ documentary, Flintoff describes his “vivid” reminiscences of the crash and says he can bear in mind “all the pieces about it”.

A nonetheless picture from shortly after the incident is proven, depicting employees and crew attending a crashed automobile at Prime Gear’s check monitor at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.

Flintoff stated filming the upcoming documentary was “fairly unusual” at first.

“Because the accident, had the flashbacks, the nightmares and issues… you are speaking about it, you are speaking about it rather a lot,” he stated.

“I take pleasure in watching the cricket bits, want there was extra of them in it. The toughest half is seeing individuals speak about you.”

He added: “I retired so way back, it nearly looks like a special life. Like watching from the surface.”

Flintoff’s household, Gavin & Stacey creator James Corden, and comic Jack Whitehall additionally seem within the trailer for the documentary, which is streaming from 25 April.

Considered one of England’s most profitable cricketers, Flintoff stated he’s “loving” his return to the game teaching England Lions – the event squad beneath England Males’s cricket staff.

“I believe, with all the pieces that is occurred over the previous few years, that is the one place I really feel most comfy,” he instructed Jonathan Ross.

“That point once I in all probability wanted it most, cricket embraced me once more,” he stated.

They 47-year-old returned to tv final yr with a second collection of his BBC programme Freddie Flintoff’s Discipline of Goals, which noticed him take a staff of younger cricketers from his hometown of Preston on a tour of India a yr after the Prime Gear crash.

The acclaimed collection is up for a Bafta Tv Award within the factual collection class subsequent month.

In 2023, the BBC “rested” Prime Gear for the foreseeable future. A monetary settlement was additionally reached with Flintoff.

The Jonathan Ross Present airs on Saturday at 22:20 BST on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Participant.