According to the BBC news fan favourite Top Gear will not return “for the foreseeable future”, though it was mentioned on the radio that this didn’t mean the show was cancelled, just resting.

This announcement comes after presenter Freddie Flintoff was seriously hurt in a crash while filming last year. The presenter was injured in December at Top Gear's test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey, which halted production of the 34th series. Health and safety is always a concern with a show that thrived on creating increasingly bolder stunts and driving fast cars.

Flintoff's accident in 2022 was not the first time a presenter had been injured. Previous presenter Richard Hammond was involved in a serious crash while filming near York in 2007 whilst driving a jet-powered dragster at nearly 320mph during an attempt to break the land speed record .

Flintoff recently reached a settlement with the BBC, reportedly worth £9m.

BBC stated

"We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do. All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing."

"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.”