Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has revealed his pride at mentoring teens in new BBC documentary series Field of Dreams On Tour, which he says is ‘unlike anything he’s worked on before’.
The four-part series see the cricket legend sees him put together a team of non-cricketers from his hometown of Preston with the goal of taking them on a tour to India.
The series had been put on hold for a year following Freddie’s devastating car crash while filming Top Gear at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey in December 2022, which left him with severe facial injuries and several broken ribs.
And with the show finally set to hit screens this week, Freddie has opened up on filming the series, detailing the immense ‘pride’ he felt for the boys he’s mentored.
On what makes the show and the India tour special, Freddie shared in a new interview: ‘It’s so special and unlike anything I’ve worked on or seen before. We’ve created things for the boys to do and see how they get on with a little bit of guidance. It’s as simple as that, which is brilliant.’
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has revealed his new BBC documentary series Field of Dreams On Tour is ‘unlike anything he’s worked on before’
The four-part series see the cricket legend sees him put together a team of non-cricketers from his hometown of Preston with the goal of taking them on a tour to India
Having worked with and nurtured the teenagers throughout their whole cricketing journey, the sportsman detailed his joy at watching the development of their characters throughout their trip.
He shared: ‘Seeing the change in the boys. Seeing them from start to finish. Seeing the good times and also being there for the bad times. I like the fact that they feel they can talk to me and they feel I can help them. And we’ve had such a character shift from a lot of lads, which has been the best thing. Obviously at the heart of this trip to India was the boys’ development, and I take great pride in seeing it.’
However, despite his pride, Freddie also joked that the lads could be a ‘challenge’ at times during the tour.
Freddie added that the project took them ‘further than we ever thought’ as it initially just started as a way to get a group of lads from Preston to ‘just have a go’ at cricket – with their exploits documented in the first series.
Meanwhile, Freddie’s former England cricket teammate Kyle Hogg, who serves as a coach on the show, shared the same sentiment as Freddie, adding that the experience was ‘so much better than any of us thought’ it was going to be.
He added that the trip and the lead-up to it was ‘one of the best experiences of my life’, as he praised the boys for their efforts throughout.
However, Kyle, 41, also revealed that though they were working with a group of teens, it was Freddie who was the troublemaker.
He said: ‘I’ll tell you what I’ve learnt about myself, it’s how much Fred can wind me up! And I know what he’s doing, and the more I push back on it, he just knows how to push my buttons! But I think that’s part of being in a team, and it is quite funny. I’d go back to my room sometimes and think – why did I let him get to me. But I know that’s what gets him going as well!’
The series had been put on hold for a year following Freddie’s car crash while filming Top Gear at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey in December 2022, which left him with severe facial injuries
And with the show finally set to hit screens this week, Freddie has opened up on filming the series, detailing the immense ‘pride’ he felt for the boys he’s mentored
Having worked with and nurtured the teenagers throughout their whole cricketing journey, the sportsman detailed his joy at watching the development of their characters throughout their trip
He shared: ‘I like the fact that they feel they can talk to me and they feel I can help them. And we’ve had such a character shift from a lot of lads, which has been the best thing’
Despite his mischievous antics, the boys shared their respect and love for Freddie, with Adnan, 18 – who came to England aged 15 from Afghanistan – saying the cricketer ‘changed my life forever’ after giving him ‘every opportunity’ to achieve his cricketing dreams.
While Dylan, 18, from Preston said that Freddie was almost like a ‘father figure’ as mentored, encouraged and guided them, adding: ‘He’s just everything.’
It comes after Freddie broke his silence about his near-fatal horror car crash in a new trailer for the show, which he shared on his Instagram last month.
The trip was nearly cancelled after his crash in December 2022 when Freddie’s car flipped over at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey – leaving him ‘lucky to be alive’.
In the trailer, which Freddie says of the incident: ‘But something happened which changed my life forever’.
Freddie is also seen telling the players: ‘We’re all going to find out something about ourselves – me included.’
Freddie gushed that the trip had had a huge impact on all of their lives
Freddie added that the project took them ‘further than we ever thought’ as it initially just started as a way to get a group of lads from Preston to ‘just have a go’ at cricket – with their exploits documented in the first series
Freddie shared in a new interview: ‘It’s so special and unlike anything I’ve worked on or seen before’
Meanwhile, Freddie’s former England cricket teammate Kyle Hogg, who serves as a coach on the show, shared the same sentiment as Freddie, adding that the experience was ‘so much better than any of us thought’
The team are seen playing cricket in the streets as Freddie admitted he thinks he will always ‘look fondly’ on Calcutta
It comes after Freddie broke his silence about his near-fatal horror car crash in a new trailer for the show, which he shared on his Instagram last month
In the trailer, which Freddie says of the incident: ‘But something happened which changed my life forever’
The group of boys are all from Freddie’s hometown of Preston and he emotionally tells them: ‘From what I’ve done in my career. You lads are my greatest achievement’.
He says: ‘I want to take you on tour. I want to take you to India,’ before adding: ‘I want the boys to learn to be outside their comfort zone.
‘I just hope and pray that all the boys take these opportunities – and they grab it with both hands.’
The accident left facial scars that while still visible, seemed to be on the mend.
Fans of the star have been relieved to see his recovery taking good shape after he became the new head coach of the Superchargers.
While Freddie kept a low-profile initially in the aftermath of the incident, he has started returning to the public eye in recent months.
Although evidence of his injuries were at first clearly visible, they are already starting to fade somewhat.
Freddie is also seen telling the players: ‘We’re all going to find out something about ourselves – me included’
The trip was nearly cancelled after his crash in December 2022 when Freddie’s car flipped over at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey – leaving him ‘lucky to be alive’ (pictured in July)
Bosses at the BBC felt it would be ‘inappropriate’ to carry on filming Top Gear in wake of what happened (L-R hosts Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris)
Bosses at the BBC felt it would be ‘inappropriate’ to carry on filming Top Gear in wake of what happened.
In a statement, the broadcaster said: ‘Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
‘The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
‘We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.’
