Automobile: after a serious accident, the Top Gear show put on pause

The motoring show Top Gear, a hit BBC program exported around the world, will be put on indefinite hiatus in the United Kingdom after the serious accident of host Andrew Flintoff on set in December 2022.

“Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to pause the British version of the show immediately,” the public audiovisual group announced Tuesday in a press release.

“We will provide more information on this in the near future. "We know the show's axing is disappointing news for fans, but we believe it's the right thing to do," the BBC continued.

After the accident, the BBC temporarily paused production of the program, saying it would be "inappropriate" to resume filming without reviewing safety regulations.

A benchmark show, Top Gear has been exported to more than 150 territories and 11 countries, including France and the United States, which have launched their own local version of the program. These versions broadcast abroad or even the magazines of the same name “are not affected by this interruption”, specified the BBC.

Seriously injured on the spot, Andrew Flintoff, 45-year-old former captain of the England cricket team, only very recently reappeared in public with facial injuries.

The commercial arm of the BBC Studios group reached a financial agreement with the former sportsman last month, the amount of which was not revealed, but which, according to The Sun, would exceed 10 million euros.

After the departure of its iconic presenters for the show "The Grand Tour" on Amazon, the BBC launched a new version of the show in 2019. Andrew Flintoff, who began presenting Top Gear that year, then had a first accident, losing control of his vehicle.