Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Flintoff needed extensive facial surgery following the crash
ByIan Youngs
Culture reporter
A racing driver who was in the car with Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff when he crashed while filming Top Gear in 2022 is suing BBC Studios.
Paul Rees gave the presenter expert driving advice from the passenger seat, and is now seeking up to £150,000 for personal injury, according to court documents.
It was not publicly known that anyone else was in the open-topped three-wheeled Morgan Super 3 when it overturned during filming. Flintoff suffered serious facial and rib injuries.
BBC Studios in its legal response said Rees did not complain of any injuries at the time or after the crash. The company denied it was negligent “as alleged or at all” and said Rees’ “faulty instructions” led to the accident.
BBC News has seen Rees’ claim form filed in December 2025 but not yet his full claim to report the details. Rees, 41, from Oxfordshire, and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Paul Rees is a racing driver and also does filming and stunt driving for TV shows
The available court documents give new information about what is claimed to have taken place in the incident, which occurred at Top Gear’s test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey on 13 December 2022.
There were microphones in the car, and BBC Studios said Flintoff expressed concern at one point when the car’s front wheel lifted as he took a corner, but was reassured by Rees that it could not roll over.
Approaching the same corner again, Rees told Flintoff to “now turn right… now full power, full power”, BBC Studios’ defence filings said.
The document claimed that “a front wheel lifted and because on the claimant’s instruction the presenter continued to apply power the Morgan turned over”.
The court document also said: “At no time in the period after the accident did the claimant suggest that he had suffered any injury in the accident.”
Image caption, Flintoff co-hosted Top Gear at the time with Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris
In a statement, BBC Studios said: “We dispute this claim and are defending it. As it’s now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Cricketer-turned-TV personality Flintoff was one of three co-hosts of the long-running BBC motoring show at the time of the crash.
He has described being dragged face-down underneath the car for about 50 metres. “I thought I was dead,” he told a Disney+ documentary last year.
He has also said he did not leave his house for six months after the crash, except for medical appointments. He reached a compensation settlement with the BBC in 2023.
The BBC then “rested” Top Gear. According to reports, the broadcaster has been exploring a return of the show.
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