Top Gear host feared show ‘wouldn’t end well’ when Freddie Flintoff was made presenter before horror crash – and said putting TV and sports stars in the driving seat ‘could be a problem’

An ex-Top Gear host said he feared the show ‘wouldn’t end well’ when TV bosses added TV and sports stars – Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness – to the roster.

Rory Reid, 44, divulged that he had fears about putting celebrities behind the Top Gear wheel as they lacked the driving experience and know-how.

It comes as former England cricketer and ex-host Flintoff, was badly injured in an accident whilst filming the show at Dunsfold Aerodrome in December 2022, where he flipped a three-wheeled car.

The cricket legend admitted the after effects of the crash might follow him ‘for the rest of my life’ and said he believes he ‘genuinely shouldn’t be here’, with the incident leading the BBC led to pull the brakes on the show for ‘foreseeable future’. 

It is understood new Top Gear presenters had been given training by professional drivers from the moment they started the show, and on hand support from pro-drivers was available during the series. 

In an interview with Times Radio, former Top Gear host Reid, was asked if he believed putting TV and sporting celebrities in the driving seat could have become an issue, to which he retorted: ‘Absolutely instantly.’ 

Freddie Flintoff on a motorised trike while filming a series of BBC programme Top Gear

He confessed he thought it issues would arise as the likes of McGuinness and Flintoff lacked the experience to ‘be able to do some of the thing the BBC was asking [him] to do.’ 

He continued: ‘The first thing I thought was these men, who I’ve been lucky enough to watch on their entertainment journeys and sports journeys, who are fabulous at what they do. 

‘I don’t think they have the driving experience to the level where they would be able to do some of the the things BBC asked me to do.’ 

He also added that it wasn’t for him ‘to say’ if the BBC had given them additional tuition and time to put the new hosts into certain situations, where it was ‘comfortable and safe’, as he was not present. 

He continued: ‘But based on my experience, if you asked me whether putting someone without that level of driving experience in those situations and whether it would end well?

‘I didn’t think it was going to end well. That was my first ever thought having heard about who would be on the show.’ 

Explaining the dangers that come with the ‘occasionally inherently dangerous’ show, he said: ‘This is not people just jumping into a car and going 30 miles an hour on the road. This is driving them in a way that is exciting and fun.

‘And it is quite difficult to do that if you don’t have a background in driving cars very quickly and understand the kind of driving dynamics and things that can go right and wrong very quickly.’

He was concerned when BBC added celebrities to the hosting roster as he worried they lacked the driving experience (Pictured: Chris Harris and Rory Reid)

England cricketer and ex-host Flintoff, was badly injured in an accident whilst filming the show at Dunsfold Aerodrome in December 2022, where he flipped a three-wheeled car (Pictured: Freddie Flintoff and comedian Paddy McGuinness on the BBC driving show)

Flintoff quit Top Gear and reached a £9million settlement with the BBC following the crash. Pictured: Flintoff (left) with his Top Gear co-hosts Paddy McGuinness (centre) and Chris Harris (right)

‘So, you know, and when you combine that with the fact that I think BBC and Top Gear in particular want to make the show look fun and look very exciting, then there is a tendency or a potential for things to go wrong very quickly.’ 

It comes as Top Gear presenter Chris Harris claimed he warned BBC bosses before Freddie Flintoff’s high-speed car crash. 

The 49-year-old host, who was on set at the time of the accident which happened during filming for Top Gear, has also said he thought Flintoff had died.

The accident at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey in December 2022 left the 46-year-old former England cricketer with significant facial and rib injuries.

And racing driver Harris told The Joe Rogan Experience podcast: ‘What was never spoken about was that three months before the accident, I’d gone to the BBC and said, unless you change something, someone’s going to die on this show.

‘So I went to them, I went to the BBC, and I told them of my concerns from what I’d seen as the most experienced driver on the show by a mile.

‘I said if we carry on at the very least, we’re going to have a serious injury; at the very worst, we’re going to have a fatality.

‘And I think what happened with Top Gear was I saw repeatedly too many times my two co-hosts who didn’t have the experience I had in cars. This is the critical thing.’

Top Gear presenters Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris, pictured in a publicity photo in 2018

England coach Freddie Flintoff at The Oval yesterday on day one of the Third Rothesay Men’s Test 

Harris said he was ‘qualified to make those decisions because I’ve done it a long time’, adding: ‘They weren’t. One of them is an actor-comedian. The other guy is a pro cricket player.

‘Brilliant entertainers. They were great hosts. But their roles were to make people laugh. And my role was to tell people what cars were like.’

In the Times Radio interview, where he discussed Top Gear, Reid also revealed that he had asked the BBC for additional training during his time on the show.

Sharing that he believed the BBC did not know enough about his driving ability he added: ‘They [were] pushing me to a point where I feel I need to be better equipped to deal with some of the things they’re asking me to do.’

‘So I was actually the one who asked them to give me extra training. I think in my second series, I said, listen, can you give me some extra tuition on the specific stunts that you asked us to do during this show.’

Following this Reid was given extra hours with a stunt driver to run through a few of the manoeuvres they were asked to do on the series. 

It is understood that the the BBC had presenters go through driving assessments before they become part of the TV show, where they are given additional training. 

The BBC documentary Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams On Tour saw the 46-year-old take a group of young people from his home town of Preston on a cricketing tour of India

All three of Top Gear’s most recent presenters had been awarded commercial commercial HGV and international racing licences whilst on the show.

A BBC spokesperson said:  ‘The independent Health and Safety production review of Top Gear, which looked at previous seasons, found that while BBC Studios had complied with the required BBC policies and industry best practice in making the show, there were important learnings which would need to be rigorously applied to future Top Gear UK productions.

‘The report included a number of recommendations to improve approaches to safety as Top Gear is a complex programme-making environment routinely navigating tight filming schedules and ambitious editorial expectations – challenges often experienced by long-running shows with an established on and off-screen team. 

‘Learnings included a detailed action plan involving changes in the ways of working, such as increased clarity on roles and responsibilities and better communication between teams for any future Top Gear production.’