BBC fearful after Andrew Flintoff's horror crash as details emerge
Andrew Flintoff sustained serious injuries while filming for the BBC nine months ago
PA
The BBC fear they could be forced to water down Top Gear in the wake of Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff's horror crash, according to reports.
The England cricket icon sustained serious injuries while filming for the show nine months ago.
Flintoff has only just returned to the public eye, with his facial injuries on display while he works with the England cricket team.
According to the Telegraph, the BBC are worried about the potential findings of an independent review.
The BBC are worried about the future of Top Gear following Andrew Flintoff's horror crash
PA
The review is due to reveal its findings in the coming weeks and one potential outcome is amateur presenters, such as Flintoff, would be banned from risking their lives.
They would instead allow professionals such as Chris Harris to carry out the dangerous stunts.
But BBC bosses apparently fear that removing the sense of danger will damage it's viewership of the show.
A former Top Gear team member also expressed fears by saying: "The reason Top Gear is a hit is the crashes.
"That's the thing. It's not a show about buying new cars, it's about stunts and jeopardy and presenters doing daft s***.
"You take the stunts away from the presenters and get a load of stunt drivers to do them and what is the point?"
Flintoff's crash isn't an isolated incident.
The BBC also faced a backlash in 2006 when Richard Hammond ended up in a coma following a 320mph crash.
Hammond later returned to the show but Flintoff, after sustaining several broken ribs while being in a vehicle that didn't have airbags, has now quit.
Several staff members who witnessed his accident also signed off sick as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder.
PR guru Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail that it'll be difficult for the BBC to find presenters in the wake of the Flintoff crash while expressing fears for the show's future.
"Anyone sensible looking at this will see pictures of Freddie Flintoff looks a pale shadow of what he once looked like," he said.
"He must have been pretty badly injured if he was out of commission for nine months still sporting those scars.
"It suggests his injuries might have been more serious than we thought.
"The question mark is can Top Gear come back from this? If they've managed the news cycle which they have over these injuries, the question is Top Gear viable in the future?
"Replacing people like [Jeremy] Clarkson, Hammond and [James] May proved to be very difficult and if Freddie Flintoff isn't coming back to it then there will be a problem getting the chemistry right.
"Then there's the true extent of what happened will soon come out.
"Can the BBC keep risking their presenters like this? This is the second major accident that should never have happened.
"It is going to be difficult to get presenters insured on that show. Two accidents have happened there.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Andrew Flintoff has been working with England cricket players in recent days
PA
"No matter how safe you're trying to be, you're still trying to create exciting entertainment which Top Gear has been doing for years."
You may like
