Andrew Flintoff is set to relaunch his television hosting career by fronting a one-off Christmas special of the gameshow Bullseye. This marks the former England cricket captain’s first presenting role since he was airlifted from a serious car accident while filming Top Gear in December 2022. The crash resulted in facial injuries and broken ribs for Flintoff, now 46, who will host the revival of the darts-themed ITV show in December.
Originally popular in the 1980s, the reboot will see Flintoff, nicknamed Freddie, replace the late comedian Jim Bowen as host. Following the accident, Flintoff starred in Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, a documentary series that followed him taking young people from his hometown of Preston on a cricketing tour of India. However, this will be his first venture back into light entertainment.
Flintoff expressed his excitement, saying, “I love the darts and Bullseye was one of my favourite shows as a kid. Can’t quite believe I’ll get to host this Christmas special. You can’t beat a bit of Bully!” In the game, teams of pairs are chosen, one for their skill at darts and the other for general knowledge. The amateur darts player is the “thrower”, and their team partner, the “knower”. The teams throw darts at different game boards while answering questions to win eccentric (and difficult to share) prizes.
Katie Rawcliffe, the head of entertainment commissioning at ITV, commented, “Bullseye is back and we can’t wait to welcome Freddie Flintoff back to ITV, too. It’s a real treat to have both as key parts of our Christmas schedule on ITV1 and ITVX this year.” Flintoff was driving an open-topped Morgan Super 3 when it flipped and slid along the track at Surrey’s Dunsfold aerodrome in December 2022. He underwent multiple surgeries for his facial injuries and said that in the seven months after the crash he left the house only for medical treatment.
In the aftermath of the accident, the BBC announced it had “rested” Top Gear for the foreseeable future and paid Flintoff £9m in compensation. While those awarded Bully’s star prize might have got a holiday, many of the other prizes awarded to the teams of pairs were a little less dazzling – and challenging to split in two. These included a Corby trouser press, fitted kitchens, Teasmades, Tantalus whisky decanters, cutlery, and even a speedboat, which according to Bowen, was only ever won once by contestants living in top-floor flats in Coventry, more than 100 miles from the sea.
