Freddie Flintoff's Top Gear passenger is suing BBC Studios over star's horror crash
Racing driver Paul Rees, who was in the car with Freddie Flintoff at the time of the accident, is taking legal action.
A passenger in Freddie Flintoff's Top Gear car crash is suing BBC Studios.
In 2022, the TV star - whose real name is Andrew Flintoff - sustained serious injuries while shooting an episode of the show back in late 2022 when the open-topped car he was driving overturned.
Top Gear was later by the broadcaster, while the host reached a compensation with the BBC months after the accident.
Now, racing driver Paul Rees - who was his passenger at the time - is taking legal action over the incident.
He's seeking up to £150,000 compensation due to personal injury, according to court documents seen by the BBC.
In a legal response, BBC Studios has argued Rees, 41, didn't complain about any injuries at the time, or in the aftermath.
The studio also denied claims it was negligent "as alleged or at all", while alleging that Rees' "faulty instructions" caused the crash.
In the court documents, new information has been made available about what allegedly happened during the incident in December 2022.
It wasn't publicly known until now that another person was in the car with Flintoff, but it's emerged Rees was there as a professional driver training and advising Flintoff how to operate the vehicle safely.
The car had microphones inside, and BBC Studios has claimed Flintoff voiced concerns when the car's front wheel lifted at a corner, but Rees assured him it couldn't roll over.
When the pair approached the same corner, Rees allegedly told Flintoff: "Now turn right. Now, full power, full power."
According to the document, "a front wheel lifted and because on the claimant's instruction the presenter continued to apply power the Morgan turned over".
The document added: "At no time in the period after the accident did the claimant suggest that he had suffered any injury in the accident."
BBC Studios said in a statement: "We dispute this claim and are defending it. As it's now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
Last year, Flintoff spoke about his Top Gear crash in his eponymous Disney+ documentary, describing the incident that left him with severe injuries after a three-wheeled vehicle flipped and dragged him along the tarmac.
He said: “Everyone wants that bigger stunt. In some ways it’s, ‘Let’s have that near miss, because that’ll get viewers.' "
Flintoff, who insisted he was "lucky to be alive", added: “You’re just a commodity, a piece of meat.”
