Former English cricketer Andrew Flintoff talks about the deadly car accident in new documentary: ‘So hard to cope

For the first time since his life changed in an instant, Former cricketer Andrew Flintoff is speaking out. In a new Disney+ documentary simply titled Flintoff, the former England cricketer reflects on the terrifying high-speed crash in 2022 that nearly cost him everything.“I remember everything about it… it’s so vivid,” Flintoff says at the start of the trailer, his voice steady but haunted. The crash, which took place while filming Top Gear at a test track in Surrey, England left him with severe facial injuries and broken ribs. Driving an open-topped vehicle at an estimated 130 mph, the car flipped and skidded along the track. Andrew had to be airlifted to the hospital. At the time, headlines called him "lucky to be alive."For months after the crash, he disappeared from the public eye. He focused on recovery—both physical and mental—away from the spotlight. Now, in the upcoming documentary releasing on April 25, Flintoff is finally sharing his story. “I’ve lived under the radar for seven months. One of the real frustrations was the speculation, that’s why I’m doing this now,” he says in the trailer.The documentary offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the life of the Ashes-winning cricketer. With appearances from his wife Rachael and close friends like Michael Vaughan, James Corden, and Jack Whitehall, Flintoff traces his journey from the cricket pitch to television screens and back again, following the life-altering incident. “This is what I’m left with. I’m not saying embrace them, but I’m not trying to hide my scars,” he says, as the trailer shows glimpses of the aftermath, including raw footage from the crash.The physical scars are visible—cuts across his nose, chin, and forehead—but it’s the emotional toll that seems hardest to bear. “It’s almost like a reset, I’m trying to find out what I am now. I’ve always seemed to be able to flick a switch, I’ve got to find that switch again," Flintoff admits.His road back to public life began tentatively, returning to screen with the BBC’s Field of Dreams and ITV’s revival of Bullseye. But the trauma lingered. “I thought I could just shake it off, I wanted to shake it off, and say, ‘here I am, I’m alright,’ but it’s not been a case of that, it’s been much harder than I thought. As much as I wanted to go out and do things, I’ve just not been able to,” he said.The crash didn’t just leave marks on his body—it etched itself into his mind. In Flintoff, the sportsman-turned-presenter lays it all bare—not just the trauma, but the slow, painful resilience it takes to rebuild. Not from scratch, but from the scars that remain. “I struggle with anxiety, I have nightmares, I have flashbacks, it’s so hard to cope,” he confesses.