Freddie Flintoff's £9million payout from 'Top Gear' following car crash revealed

25 April 2025, 14:40 | Updated: 25 April 2025, 14:51

• Freddie Flintoff, 47, was involved in a car crash while filming 'Top Gear' back in 2022, which left him with life-changing injuries
• The former-cricketer turned TV star reportedly received a £9million payout from BBC Studios
• In his new Disney+ documentary, Freddie says that the world of sport and TV treated him 'like a piece of meat'
• Listen on Global Player now: Legends of the Ashes, Narrated by Stephen Fry

By Alice Dear

Here's what we know about Freddie Flintoff's 'Top Gear' payout after the car crash which left him house-bound for seven months.

Freddie Flintoff, 47, has returned to the public eye for a new documentary on Disney+ where he explores his life, career and the devastating car accident which changed his life forever.

In December 2022, Freddie was test driving an open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 at the 'Top Gear' Test Track, the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, when the car flipped over and slid along the track.

Following the incident, the TV star withdrew from public life as he recovered at his Cheshire home with his family. At the same time, 'Top Gear' was taken off screens as the BBC announced the hit driving show would not be returning "for the foreseeable future".

• Read more: What is Freddie Flintoff's net worth? His impressive earnings revealed

In 2023, it was reported that Freddie (real name Andrew) received a staggering payout from BBC Studios, which is said to have reflected the money he would have earned if the crash had not happened.

• Read more: What is Freddie Flintoff's real name and why did he change it?
• Read more: Freddie Flintoff shares harrowing decision that saved his life during horror Top Gear crash
• Read more: Who is Freddie Flintoff's wife Rachael? Her age, children, job and marriage revealed

Did Freddie Flintoff get a payout?

It has been reported that Freddie Flintoff received a £9million payout from BBC Studios after the 'Top Gear' crash stopped him from working for several months.

In October 2023, it was reported by The Sun that the BBC and Freddie had come to an agreement over the sum of the compensation he would receive, which is said to be for two years’ loss of earnings.

The publication reported that Freddie had decided not to sue following the car accident, in turn waiving a potentially bigger payout.

At the time, BBC Studios said it had “sincerely apologised to Freddie," and the reports were that both parties were "satisfied" by the agreement they had come to, with hopes of working together in the future.

A source said on the deal: “Fred has been left utterly traumatised and shell-shocked by this entire episode. You cannot underestimate the ­physical and mental toll this crash had on him.

"He could have easily sued BBC Studios - and perhaps got considerably more from them - but instead agreed to settle privately, with as little animosity as possible."

They continued: “By the time Freddie returns to screens next year at the earliest, he will have lost out on almost two years earnings.

"Because of the surgeries he’s had, he may also have to turn down other work - or not be offered it in the first place - which also came into consideration when it came to the final offer."

• Read more: What happened between Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness?
• Read more: Freddie Flintoff reveals heartache as 'frightened' son avoided him due to facial scars
• Read more: Freddie Flintoff car crash video shown for first time in emotional new documentary

This comes as Freddie reflects on the expectation for "bigger stunts" in both the TV and sports injury in his documentary 'Flintoff'.

"I think that's the danger that TV falls into, and I found out the hard way, eventually," he tells the cameras: "It's always more, isn't it? Like, even you with your [director John Dower] questions, everyone wants more."

He continued: "Everybody wants that thing that nobody's seen before, everyone wants that bigger stunt, and it's not a go at you, John. But everybody wants to dig a little bit deeper, everyone wants an exclusive, everyone wants that bigger stunt."

"Everyone [is like] 'actually, in someways, let's have that near-miss, because then that will get viewers'", he told the cameras in the emotional film: "Everything's about viewers, always, always. And I should have been cleverer on this, because I learnt this in sport as well, with all the injuries and all the injections, and all the times that I got sent out on a cricket field, and just treated like a piece of meat.

"That's TV and sport, I think that's where it's quite similar. You're just a commodity, you're just a piece of meat," he finished.