Richard Hammond hasn’t reached out to Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff after his ‘Top Gear’ crash because he is “on his own business of recovery”.
Richard Hammond hasn't been in contact with Freddie Flintoff following his Top Gear accident
The 54-year-old TV star was involved in a near-fatal accident in 2006 where his jet-powered dragster spun off the track during filming for the BBC show but hasn’t contacted 46-year-old Freddie - who suffered a similar crash while shooting for the same programme in 2022 - because he didn’t feel like he needed to “involve [himself]” in the situation.
Asked if he had reached out to the former cricketer, ‘The Grand Tour’ presenter told The Daily Mirror newspaper: “I'd very much like to, but he's on his own business of recovery.
“Having been down the path of recovery myself, I know that you just need to get on with it. But if the opportunity arises to talk to him, of course I would.
“I didn’t involve myself in it. Of course, I was horrified and scared for him, and I wish him the best possible recovery. It's a really awful thing to happen.”
Richard - who has 23-year-old daughter Izzy with his wife Mindy - insisted he was “massively grateful” for being given the chance to work on ‘Top Gear’ despite his terrifying crash.
He explained: “I'm still massively grateful for the opportunity and all that came from it and through it.
“It was another significant thing on the list of significant things in my life and, you know, there's an interconnectedness to all of those things because if I hadn't made certain decisions, I wouldn't have met Mindy. [To Izzy] There wouldn't have been a you - so everything we do is to connect to this. The butterfly effect …”
Richard currently presents his podcast ‘Who We Are Now’ with Izzy, and revealed his ‘Top Gear’ accident and the consequences of it were a huge factor in creating the show he shares with his daughter.
He said: “One of the starting points for the podcast was because I was very publicly brain injured in an accident.
“I certainly feel no stigma attached to discussing my own emotional state or issues I've had because it was all out in the air and I had to.
“Izzy lived through that experience. But I think from a listener's point of view, what that means is if a bloke comes across this who knows me through ‘Top Gear’ or any of the quite blokey shows I've done, they might say, ‘Hey, he's the little fella off that show, but he's prepared to talk about these things’.”
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