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Freddie Flintoff has reached a compensation agreement with the BBC worth a reported £9million over his Top Gear crash.
The England cricket legend was involved in a near-fatal accident last December while filming for the popular motoring show.
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Flintoff, 45, made his first public appearance since the crash in September, nine months after he was airlifted to hospital after being seriously hurt at Dunsfold Aerodrome.
The ex-England captain suffered facial injuries and several broken ribs after the open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 car he was driving reportedly flipped and slid along the track upside down while driving at around 130mph.
Ten months later, Flintoff has now agreed on a payout which is said to equate for two years’ loss of earnings due to his ‘life-altering’ injuries.
According to The Sun, the Ashes hero decided not to sue the corporation for a potentially bigger payout and instead opted to settle privately.
It is claimed Flintoff and the BBC are ‘satisfied’ with the agreement, which will not be funded by TV licence fees as BBC Studios – makers of Top Gear – is a commercial arm of the broadcaster.
A BBC Studios spokesperson said: “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.”
Series 34 of Top Gear, which Flintoff began presenting in 2019, was halted following the cricket legend’s crash and filming has not resumed.
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The BBC said in March it would be inappropriate to resume making the series at that time following an internal investigation into what happened.
It is understood that the decisions on future episodes of Top Gear will be made ‘in due course in conjunction with BBC Content’.
Flintoff has since joined the coaching staff of England’s cricket team in a temporary, unofficial and unpaid capacity, with ex-international teammate Steve Harmison delighted to see him on the field.
“It was great to see him back,” he told talkSPORT.
“It’s been tough, you’ve seen the pictures of him with a smile on his face but I saw him about six weeks ago when my son Charlie and his son, Rocky played against each other and it was great to see him.
“I roomed with Andrew for the best part of 15 years and we’d gone through all our careers together and so to see our two sons playing each other, Northumberland against Lancashire, it was fantastic.
“I got to see him then but at that time he covered his face up when he walked around – believe it or not, he was training a guide dog which I’m sure is going better now than it was because he tripped over around three times on his way around the field!
“He was on great form, but to see him around the England group, the main team, was fantastic.”