It has been confirmed that Top Gear will no longer be broadcast.
Following Freddie Flintoff’s catastrophic tragedy last year, the BBC has declared that it will’rest’ famous motorsport show Top Gear ‘for the foreseeable future’.
In a statement, the broadcaster said: ‘Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
‘The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
‘We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.
‘All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including ‘international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.’
The announcement comes nearly a year after Flintoff’s tragic crash at the program’s test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.
Top Gear was originally hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, but Freddie joined the cast in 2019 with Chris Harris.
The 45-year-old former cricketer was left with face injuries and fractured ribs following his collision in December 2022, and was flown to hospital after allegedly having to wait 45 minutes for a chopper.
A few months ago, he was seen in his first public appearance since the event, cheering on England’s maiden one-day international against New Zealand at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.
Shortly later, he made his first public statement, delivering a heartfelt remark while presenting England batsman Tom Hartley with his hat.
In his speech, he said: ‘Play with passion, play with pride, play with belief. And also part of a family of people. They’ll share the good times with you, share the successes.
‘But as I found over the past few months, they’ll be there for you in the hardest times of your life.’
It was recently claimed that Freddie agreed to a seven-figure sum in compensation from the BBC following his crash, receiving £9million in the settlement.
According to The Sun, he decided not to sue and turned down a bigger payout while making the deal with BBC Studios (BBCS), the makers of Top Gear.
Because BBCS is the commercial arm of the Line of Duty broadcaster, the compensation would not be paid by public licence payments.
A spokesperson from BBC: ‘BBC Studios has reached an agreement with Freddie that we believe supports his continued rehabilitation, return to work and future plans.
‘We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.’
Top Gear’s Chris Evans talked publicly about Freddie’s accident for the first time since the accident on Thursday, November 9.
The TV personality said that he went into a ‘slighlty dark place’, while emphasising that he’s ‘over the moon that my friend Fred is still with us’.
Chris, 48, said on BBC Breakfast that Freddie was ‘healing’, stating: ‘It was a serious incident. I’m not going to say any more than that.
‘As I’ve said in the book and in the few interviews I’ve given, I’m so proud of the fact that team Top Gear kept everything quiet and we were dignified.’
He explained how Top Gear’s filming being paused meant that he ‘suddenly had nothing to do’, which had a big impact on his life.
‘I have got another business, which is an online car platform which is great. I do stuff there,’ he said.
‘But my day job went and you can imagine your muscle memory of working life is really important, you guys have your routines, if that suddenly stops and suddenly you don’t talk to those people, you don’t see those people, then you go into a slightly dark place. I think I really missed it.’
