Former Top Gear host Chris Harris recently opened up about the crash that severely injured his co-host Freddie Flintoff in 2022. Flintoff, a former professional cricket player and Top Gear presenter, suffered serious injuries during the filming of an episode at the Dunsfold track, leading to the eventual cancellation of the popular motoring show. Although Flintoff has largely recovered, he still faces both physical and mental challenges. Harris shared his concerns about the crash during an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," revealing that he had warned the BBC months before the incident.
Chris Harris mentioned on the podcast that he foresaw the possibility of such an incident. Three months prior to the crash, Harris voiced his concerns to the BBC, warning them of the increasing dangers on the show. "I told them if something didn’t change, someone would die on this show," Harris explained. However, despite his warnings, his concerns were seemingly not taken seriously, which only deepened his frustration after the accident occurred.
Flintoff’s 2022 crash wasn’t the first major incident in the later years of Top Gear. In 2020, fellow host Paddy McGuinness lost control of a Lamborghini Diablo on public roads, veering into a field. Flintoff himself had crashed a Subaru Brat in 2019 during a race in Mansfield. Harris also recalled an incident where he broke his hand while filming stunts with wooden go-karts in Thailand, one of the moments he felt stunts were getting out of hand. Despite these occurrences, the BBC didn’t fully acknowledge Harris’ repeated concerns about the show’s safety.
Harris admitted to struggling with the aftermath, particularly because he didn’t have a chance to speak with Flintoff about the vehicle he was driving that day — a Morgan 3 Wheeler. Due to the filming schedule, they never discussed the car’s potential difficulties. "That was the one day we didn’t talk, and it’s the day everything went wrong," Harris reflected. This has been especially hard for him to come to terms with, knowing it was preventable.
Currently, the BBC has put Top Gear on indefinite "rest." If it returns, the show will likely undergo a major transformation, including new presenters. Harris expressed his discomfort with the situation, noting that telling an organization something was bound to go wrong and then witnessing it unfold was a position he never expected to be in.
Started my career in Automotive Journalism in 2015. Even though I'm a pharmacist, hanging around cars all the time has created a passion for the automotive industry since day 1.
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