Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff: All-rounder on the field and TV screen

The former England cricket captain, who has been injured while filming motoring show Top Gear, retired from the sport in 2015 but has since gone on to become a television regular.

Born in Preston on December 6 1977, his sporting career saw him take part in several international cricket tours with England youth teams before making his debut for Lancashire in 1995.

In 1999 he made his senior international debut against Pakistan at Sharjah, scoring 50, and later that year became the first Lancashire player to score a century before lunch in a Roses match against Yorkshire at Old Trafford.

He helped England clinch the Ashes in 2005 after a draw against Australia at the Oval.

Flintoff was named man of the series and jointly awarded the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year award, before going on to win BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.

A year later he was made an MBE by Queen and named man of the Test series in India.

After undergoing ankle surgery he was named England captain for the Ashes tour of Australia, but was replaced by Michael Vaughan after a 5-0 Test whitewash.

Flintoff was re-appointed captain in January 2007 after Vaughn was injured and he went on to lead the team to victory in the Cricket World Cup.

In 2009, Flintoff ended his England career on a high, helping the team defeat Australia at the Oval to seal a 2-1 Ashes series win.

He retired from all forms of professional cricket, having consulted with medical advisors, but returned briefly in 2014 to play Twenty20 for Lancashire.

He went on to become a familiar face on television, taking part in reality and panel shows and appearing as the face of supermarket brand Morrisons.

In 2010 he became a team captain on Sky’s A League Of Their Own, hosted by James Corden.

In 2012 the BBC aired a documentary he produced titled Freddie Flintoff: Hidden Side Of Sport in which he spoke to sporting professionals about the serious effects of depression and confronted his own issues while England captain.

He was crowned king of the jungle in the first series of the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2015.

Flintoff was again praised for opening up about his struggles with mental health during the show.

After appearing in the BBC drama Love, Lies And Records in 2017, he went on to make his musical theatre debut in Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends The Musical and hosted All Star Musicals for ITV in December the same year.

He was announced as the new host of Top Gear in October 2018 alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris for the BBC show’s 27th series.

In February 2019, Flintoff was involved in a minor car incident when he crashed into a market stall in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, while filming for Top Gear.

In September of the same year he crashed again while driving a three-wheel vehicle at a reported speed of 124mph during filming for Top Gear at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, but walked away from the incident unharmed.

The former cricketer and Top Gear host, 42, developed the eating disorder after joining the England side, prompted by scrutiny from fans, the press and his colleagues.

In a 2020 documentary he revealed he had developed the eating disorder bulimia nervosa while trying to keep up with his slimmer, fitter teammates during his cricket career.

Freddie Flintoff On Bulimia, which saw him meet experts and male sufferers, was hailed for offering a better understanding of what it means to be a man with an eating disorder.

His latest crash took place while filming at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.