Stunt driver suing BBC for £150,000 over Top Gear crash that almost killed Freddie Flintoff

By DAISY GRAHAM-BROWN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Published: 22:20, 11 July 2026 | Updated: 22:29, 11 July 2026 A stunt driver is suing the BBC for up to £150,000 over the near-fatal Top Gear crash that left presenter Freddie Flintoff seriously injured. Professional racing driver Paul Rees, who was hired as an instructor on the show, was a passenger in the car, court documents reveal. Mr Rees allegedly told Flintoff to 'give it the beans' just moments before the Morgan Super 3 he was driving flipped at the programme's test track in Surrey in December 2022. Flintoff, 48, who suffered horrific injuries to his jaw and broken ribs was later reported to have struck a £9million deal with the BBC for loss of earnings. But now the Corporation is facing legal action from Mr Rees, a former Formula 2 driver and stunt driver for television shows and Hollywood blockbusters, including Mission Impossible. Mr Rees, 41, from Oxfordshire, lodged a personal injury claim at the High Court in 2025 against BBC Studios, the Corporation's commercial arm, alleging that the company was negligent. He is seeking damages of up to £150,000 for alleged injuries, pain, suffering and loss of quality of life. Lawyers for BBC Studios have emphatically denied that they were negligent and instead argue in their defence: 'It was [Rees's] faulty instructions which led to the accident.' Paul Rees, a professional racing driver, is suing the BBC over the Top Gear crash that almost killed Freddie Flintoff The BBC Studios filing provides insight into the moments immediately before the crash at Dunsfold Aerodrome which saw Flintoff being dragged face-down along the tarmac for roughly 50 metres. The Super 3 did not have a roof and Flintoff was not wearing a helmet - and reports indicate that he endured an agonizing 45-minute delay before he could be airlifted to St George's Hospital in London, as crew members initially struggled to locate a stretcher. There were microphones in the car before the crash, and the defence filing from BBC Studios claims that Rees reassured Flintoff that the car would not roll just before it did, telling him: 'As you turn the wheel then give it the beans and then as soon as you are sort of in a slide, then come off the power and try and drift it...' Just seconds before the Super 3 flipped, BBC Studios claims that the pair were heading towards Chicago corner and Rees said: 'So going up here, now turn right ... now full power, full power.' Rees, who is also a presenter for luxury home competition company Omaze, is married to 40-year-old physiotherapist Jemma and the couple live in a £1.3million country house south of Oxford with their two sons. The exact nature of Rees's alleged injuries are at this stage unknown, but it is understood that he has submitted reports from a psychiatrist and an orthopaedic surgeon as part of his claim. BBC Studios has said in its defence that it does not agree with these reports, and claims that Rees 'did not complain of injury at the time or in the period after the accident'. Ex-England cricketer Flintoff was left seriously injured after the crash in December 2022 Top Gear was cancelled for the foreseeable future in late 2023 following the crash. The MoS understands that BBC studios gave Rees medical and welfare support after the incident and that it is denying his demands for compensation. Regarding his claim, a BBC Studios spokesman said: 'We dispute this claim and are defending it. As it's now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.' Paul Rees was approached for comment.