Top Gear filming halted by BBC after Freddie Flintoff accident

The BBC says it has halted the latest series of Top Gear after presenter Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff was hurt in an accident while filming.

The presenter was injured in December at Top Gear's test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.

The BBC said: "Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34."

The broadcaster said a decision on how best to continue would be made later this year.

Following the accident on 13 December, the former England cricketer received medical care at the scene before being taken to hospital for further treatment.

In a statement, the BBC said: "We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.

"We understand this [halting the show] will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we'll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year."

The decision has also impacted the production team, said the BBC, adding that there would be a health and safety review of the show.

Top Gear, one of the broadcaster's most successful and exported programmes, has had a series of different presenters since 2002.

December's accident was not the first Flintoff has suffered since he first began presenting the show.

The father-of-four crashed into a market stall in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in February 2019.

In September of the same year, he also crashed during a drag race while he was filming at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, but walked away unharmed.

Flintoff retired from cricket in 2009 having played 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and seven T20s for England.

He played a key role in England's Ashes successes of 2005 and 2009.

After retiring from cricket in 2010 - he had one professional bout as a boxer, won the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and also took to acting.

He joined Top Gear as a host in 2019 and has co-starred in the show with Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris.

One of Top Gear's previous presenters, Richard Hammond, was also injured while filming for the series in 2006.

Hammond crashed a car while travelling at nearly 300mph at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York, leaving him in a coma with a frontal lobe brain injury.

He survived and ultimately returned to the series alongside fellow hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

The trio left Top Gear in 2015 after an altercation between Clarkson and a producer.

Last month, Hammond said he worried the crash could be responsible for his worsening memory.