Paddy McGuinness ‘wanted pay out’ following Freddie Flintoff’s BBC Top Gear crash: ‘Lost his job’
Paddy McGuiness has reportedly argued he should have received a pay out following former Top Gear co-star Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff’s serious car accident while filming for the BBC series.
Flintoff, 47, suffered a life-altering car crash he while filming BBC’s Top Gear in 2022, and has only recently returned to the public eye.
His new documentary, simply titled Flintoff, gives viewers exclusive insight into Flintoff’s world, from his cricket triumphs to his current life.
The accident, which happened during filming at a test track in Surrey, left Flintoff with broken ribs and serious facial injuries.
Production on Top Gear was subsequently suspended and the series later rested following the incident.
Flintoff’s co-presenters at the time included McGuinness, 51, and Chris Harris, 50.
While the BBC previously apologised to Flintoff and reportedly settled with a £9 million compensation package, it has emerged McGuinness also feels he should have received a payout.
A source close to the presenter commented: “Paddy was moaning because he had lost his job, the show went so really it was a case of him being made redundant.
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“It was a big income for him and suddenly it was gone after Freddie’s accident.”
Speaking to MailOnline, they continued: “He couldn’t understand why he didn’t get a pay out, I guess you can see his point. Freddie did get one but he was so badly injured.”
GB News has contacted McGuinness’ representation over the reports.
Despite McGuinness’ reported grievances with the broadcaster, the BBC soon created a new show fronted by the former Take Me Out star and Harris.
Paddy and Chris: Road Tripping aired in September last year, and saw the duo seeking secrets to ageing gracefully while travelling around Europe.
Meanwhile, Flintoff re-visiting his accident has seen him make candid admissions about how he came to terms with his serious injuries.
In a BBC series last year, he opened up about the psychological impact of his accident.
“I thought I could just shake it off, I wanted to shake it off, and say, ‘Here I am, I’m alright,’ but it’s not been a case of that, it’s been much harder than I thought,” he said.
He revealed ongoing struggles with anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks.
The new Disney+ series delves even deeper into the incident. He admitted in the film how, in his darkest moments, he wished the crash had been fatal.
“After the accident, I didn’t think I had it in me to get through. This sounds awful. Part of me thinks I should have been killed. Part of me thinks I wish I had died,” he shared.
“I didn’t want to kill myself, I won’t mistake the two things, but I just, I was not wishing, I was thinking this would have been so much easier.”