Paddy McGuinness has broken his silence following Andrew Flintoff’s admission that he hasn’t spoken to his former Top Gear co-host since his horror crash.
Flintoff, a former England captain, suffered serious injuries when filming for the BBC TV show Top Gear in December 2022, with a documentary released on Disney+ this week detailing his experiences and recovery.
The cricket legend turned presenter had been driving a Morgan Super 3 three-wheeled sports car, which flipped and dragged him across the tarmac of Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
The vehicle had no airbags and the crash left Flintoff with severe facial injuries and several broken ribs.
Flintoff received a £9m payout from the BBC following the crash, with the star having since criticised the corporation for treating him ‘like a piece of meat’ on Top Gear in a bid to attract more TV viewers.
Within the 98-minute programme, Flintoff revealed that he has barely spoken to McGuiness and Harris, despite having an extremely close bond with the pair while on the show.
Andrew Flintoff opened up on his relationship with Top Gear co-stars Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris in a new documentary
Flintoff (pictured in 2018) revealed he has barely spoken to McGuiness or Harris
Flintoff was left with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs after a near-fatal car crash when he was filming Top Gear alongside McGuinness in December 2022
Now, though, McGuinness has opened up on his relationship with Flintoff, nicknamed Freddie, admitting his love for his former co-star, according to the Mirror.
‘I love Fred. He’s a good lad. The mad thing about me getting on with him so well is that I know absolutely zero about cricket. I’ve never watched it, never been into it and never played it. I knew of Freddie and Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan… the famous names.
‘Me, Fred and Chris [Harris] everyday we worked together we just laughed. It was such a lovely experience. It was one of those jobs for me, as someone who wasn’t well travelled to visit the places we did in Top Gear and go off the beaten track.
‘It was only when I reflect on the things we did that I think what a privilege it is to have done that job. Freddie and I still message. But everyone’s got busy lives.
‘It’s like with every show I do, you work with people and you keep in touch but no one lives near everyone. It’s like lightning in a bottle getting everyone together.’
The Daily Mail’s Katie Hind reported on Thursday evening that McGuinness felt he should have received a payoff from the BBC after Top Gear was axed in the wake of Flintoff’s crash.
One source told MailOnline: ‘Paddy was moaning because he had lost his job, the show went so really it was a case of him being made redundant.
‘It was a big income for him and suddenly it was gone after Freddie’s accident.
McGuinness believed he should have received a pay out from the BBC when Top Gear was canned, MailOnline can reveal
The television presenter complained to friends that he believed that like Flintoff he should have been given cash because he lost an income
‘He couldn’t understand why he didn’t get a pay out, I guess you can see his point. Freddie did get one but he was so badly injured.
‘His life changed, he didn’t leave the house for months and months and while it was sad for Paddy that his job had gone, he did go on to find other work,;
BBC insiders have speculated that Paddy’s upset at not getting a pay out may have been the reason why the Corporation created a new show, Paddy and Chris: Road Tripping alongside Chris Harris.
‘The talk at the Beeb is that was done to appease him,’ said one.
Flintoff and McGuinness had a clear chemistry on camera, and shared a close relationship, but the former cricketer expressed his concern that seeing his former co-star would bring back painful memories.
‘We’ve been in contact,’ he said. ‘When I saw Chris we hugged each other, he got upset and I got a little bit upset.
‘I feel bad I haven’t been more in contact with him and Paddy. I think there were some comments that I’ve not spoken with Paddy for a while and part of it is for myself a little bit.
‘I hate the word triggering… but I’m worried about that. It’s also something that has stopped because of what’s happened to me. Their careers have been halted as well.
An image following the horrifying crash was released as part of the trailer for the Disney+ documentary
Mr Jahrad Haq (right), an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, operated on Flintoff, who had extensive damage to both the hard and soft tissue of his face
The former England cricket star turned TV presenter lost a significant portion of his lips
Flintoff is seen looking at the reconstructive work in a mirror as part of the documentary trailer
‘So I feel bad for them and also it’s like what happened gets dragged up enough in my own head without adding to that (by seeing them).’
In the documentary, called ‘Flintoff’, which takes an intimate and unprecedented look into 47-year-old’s life, vivid details of the crash and his subsequent recovery is laid bare.
In the film Flintoff admitted in that he had wished he had died in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
He revealed his biggest fear was that he ‘didn’t think I had a face’, stating he thought his face ‘had come off’ in the horror crash.
The film, by BAFTA-award winning director John Dower, is the first time the cricketer has spoken in unfiltered detail about the accident in the Morgan Super 3 sports car.
The documentary, which premiered in London earlier this week, features an unflinching look at Flintoff’s injuries following the crash.
‘I thought I was dead, because I was conscious but I couldn’t see anything,’ he said – realising seconds later his hat had fallen over his eyes.
But as he lifted it up, he looked down to see blood – and was terrified that he no longer had a face.
Flintoff had expressed concerns for McGuinness’ career being halted as a result of his accident
Flintoff revealed that keeping his distance from McGuiness was partly for his own recovery
Flintoff has had to undergo extensive surgeries to his teeth and face since the accident
‘I thought my face had come off. I was frightened to death,’ he said.
Crippled by anxiety, Flintoff remained housebound for the next seven months, only venturing out for appointments with doctors and dentists.
He eventually built up the courage to face the public again during the 2023 Ashes, initially watching incognito alongside long-term friend Rob Key, the ECB’s men’s director of cricket.
Soon afterwards, he launched a coaching career with the help of Key that has since seen him take charge of England Lions.
‘When Andrew needed it most, cricket was there for him. Cricket saved him. It gave him a reason for being again,’ said Flintoff’s wife Rachael.
Flintoff is one of the greatest England cricketers of the 21st century, and his heroics as a talismanic all-rounder were crucial to the 2005 Ashes win.
