Former Top Gear presenter Chris Harris has claimed he warned BBC bosses that "someone's going to die on this show" just three months before Freddie Flintoff's horrific crash in December 2022.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Harris claimed he had raised serious safety concerns with the broadcaster prior to the incident.
"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'," Harris stated.
The automotive journalist, who co-hosted Top Gear alongside Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness, said he had noticed increasingly dangerous situations during filming.
Harris claimed his warnings were not taken seriously, leaving him "totally perplexed" by the BBC's response.
Flintoff's crash occurred at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey, which had been Top Gear's test track since 2002. The former cricketer was driving an open-topped Morgan three-wheeler when the vehicle flipped and slid along the track.
Freddie Flintoff was left with severe facial injuries following the Top Gear crash
PA
Harris recounted the harrowing moment: "I heard someone say this has been a real accident here. The car's upside down. So I ran to the window, looked out and he wasn't moving. So I thought he was dead."
Flintoff suffered multiple facial injuries and broken ribs, requiring airlift to hospital. He was reportedly "lucky to be alive".
In the aftermath, the BBC announced Top Gear would be "rested" for the "foreseeable future". Flintoff later received a £9 million settlement from the broadcaster.
Harris provided further details about the day of Flintoff's crash, revealing that the former cricketer wasn't wearing a helmet whilst driving the Morgan three-wheeler. He described the vehicle as "very difficult" and noted that only he and one other professional driver on set had experience with it.
Joe Rogan spoke to Chris Harris about the Top Gear crash on his podcast
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"No one had asked us anything about the car. They'd just gone on and shot it without us," Harris claimed.
He expressed regret at not having the opportunity to brief Flintoff on the vehicle's challenges due to the "rushed" schedule.
"Because of the call times that day, that was the first time we'd never had the chance to talk about how he might approach a difficult vehicle," Harris explained.
The presenter added that he felt "partly responsible" for not being able to advise Flintoff before the ill-fated drive.
Harris claimed that during his time on Top Gear, he witnessed "repeatedly too many times" his co-hosts being placed in dangerous situations beyond their automotive expertise. He recounted a particularly risky incident in Thailand involving wooden go-karts: "I just looked at [the producers], and I said, it's not a question of whether we get injured. It's how injured we get."
The presenter expressed frustration that his concerns were allegedly dismissed by the BBC: "I went to the BBC, and I found out really that no one had taken me very seriously.
"I did a bit of digging afterwards. The conversation I had with those people was sort of acknowledged. Then they tried to sort of shut me down a bit."
Harris added that he felt the BBC "didn't look after me at all" and "just sort of left me to rot" following his attempts to raise safety issues.
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BBC Top Gear: Chris Harris (middle) hosted the show with Flintoff (left) and Paddy McGuinness (right)
BBC
The BBC has responded to Harris's claims by sharing a statement regarding the health and safety review of Top Gear.
The statement, issued by BBC Studios, acknowledged that whilst the production had complied with required policies, there were "important learnings" to be applied to future productions.
The review recommended changes to improve safety approaches, including "increased clarity on roles and responsibilities and better communication between teams".
A separate investigation was conducted into Flintoff's specific crash.
Despite the controversy, Flintoff has recently made a return to television. He recently starred in the second series of his cricket show Field of Dreams on the BBC.
In a home video shared as part of the new series, Flintoff revealed the full extent of his facial injuries, stating: "I genuinely should not be here after what happened."
