"Close To Home" Freddie Flintoff on Ricky Hatton Cause of Death & Surviving Horror Crash
British viewers need no introduction to Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, the undisputed sporting legend. And even more around the world will know him as the lovable northern rogue from Top Gear. The former England cricket player’s life was changed dramatically in December 2022 when the car he was driving flipped and he sustained serious injuries to his face and ribs. Flintoff details his story of survival in his new book ‘Coming Home: The Moments That Made Me’ - and joins Piers Morgan to open up about how he thinks the sport that made him may have saved his life, his friendship with the late Ricky Hatton, whose death today was ruled as a suicide and more. Piers Morgan Uncensored is proudly independent and supported by: Oxford Natural: To watch their full stories, scan the QR code on your screen or visit https://oxfordnatural.com/piers/ to get 70% off your first order when you use code PIERS. Tax Network USA: Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit https://TNUSA.com/PIERS to meet with a strategist today for FREEBirch Gold: Visit https://birchgold.com/piers to get your free info kit on gold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Surviving the Crash00:10:43
You've had this horrific crash, but you've survived.
I did think I was dead and I thought, is this what it is when you die?
I got dragged out and under the car and I'd taken a big impact and I could feel but I couldn't see it.
I didn't think I had a face from being pleased I was still there turned into fear pretty quickly.
We knew you'd survive but then you kind of disappeared.
How important was your family?
I'm sure I wasn't easy.
You know I'd cry a lot, I'd get snappy, I'd get angry.
It was a mess.
But Rachel was strong.
She had to be for both of us.
I think you realise what's important and you realise how fragile I suppose life can be as well.
I'm still figuring it out pretty soon.
Do you drive now?
Yeah, I've only been driving about four months.
Just being sat behind the wheel and getting all the thoughts back.
It was an adjustment to begin with.
To physically see you again is actually, it's a great feeling.
Yeah, probably when a few people here will say the feeling's mutual.
For the record, who did piss in the garden at number 10 Downing Street?
Well, British viewers need no introduction to Andrew Freddie Flintoff, an undisputed sporting legend.
Australians probably know him as more of a sporting tyrant after a string of unforgettable performances and iconic rivalry.
Even our US audiences will remember his second coming as a top gear star.
However, they were allegedly offer subtitles to help navigate his very, very northern accent.
Well, Fred's new book, Coming Home, The Moments That Made Me, is an instant classic in many ways.
I'm delighted to say he joins in the studio now.
I'm actually delighted to see you.
Thank you.
Because I have not seen you since your accident.
No.
So we've known each other 20 years or so now and obviously communicated a lot, but to physically see you again is actually a great feeling.
Yeah, probably when a few people here will say the feeling's mutual.
Hey Fred, how are you?
Yeah, I'm all right.
It's been an adjustment over the past few years.
Obviously with the accident was one thing and getting over that.
Whether you actually truly get over it, I'm not quite sure.
Do you think you ever will?
I don't know.
I'm accepting of it now.
You know, with what happened, you know, I suffered from PTSD.
I had flashbacks and nightmares, but I've probably got more of an acceptance of them now.
But I suppose the biggest thing it did do was brought me back to cricket.
And obviously with family and friends and cricket have been the things that now have probably helped me more than anything.
There's an amazing thing at the start of your book where you talk about your cricket instincts honed from facing 95, 100 mile an hour fast bowlers where you literally have to rely on your instinct to get you out of trouble where you get hit.
And you have that instinct as the car's rolling.
I'm not going to labour the crash because I know you don't want to overly talk about that.
You don't need to, you've done it.
But that moment when those instincts kicked in, can you remember that vividly?
Yeah, because one of the things about the crash was I was knocked unconscious.
So I remember everything about it.
And it was in a car where I was exposed from pretty much here up and no helmet on.
And as it went over, it was like, I've got a decision I need to make here.
And I can only relate it to batting at cricket and probably American viewers on baseball, how fast it is.
So if someone's bowling around 90 miles an hour, you've got 0.4 of a second.
And in that 0.4 of a second, you've got to decide where the ball's going to go, if it's going to swing, you've got to get your feet in the right place, your body, you've got to think about where you're going to hit it.
And I think in some ways, having them instincts saved me.
So I had a decision I had to make.
You know, I thought if I get hit sideways, I'll break my neck.
So I just turned and looked at the floor and braced myself and shut my eyes and took my left arm out because they say keep your arms in the car because you might lose one.
But I thought I'm right-handed, so I just gripped tight with my right hand and tried to brace a little bit with my left one.
Thinking you might lose your arm.
Possibly, yeah.
So, you know, and I got dragged out and under the car, and it turned out obviously not ideal, but I was alive.
And possibly in that moment, that's probably what saved me.
So I'm thankful for that.
And then also, probably as well, obviously support of family and friends, but I think cricket has played a massive part latterly in getting me back into life almost.
That moment when you know you're not dead, when you've had this horrific crash, but you've survived, is that moment, albeit briefly, is it a moment of euphoria, or did you instantly think, well, I may have survived, but I'm in real trouble here?
I think, I think, two things.
Initially, I did think I was dead because I couldn't see anything.
I was just in darkness.
And I thought, is this it?
Is there almost going to be like this in darkness?
Is this what it is when you die?
But I had a hat on and the hat had gone above my eyes.
So I pulled it up.
It's like, I don't know, but I'm on a top gear track.
And then initially, I suppose please, but then fear because I knew that I'd taken a big impact and I could feel what had happened, but I couldn't see it.
So my initial thought was actually checked on my body.
I can still feel everything, although I've done my wrist and a couple of ribs.
But then I didn't think I had a face.
That was the hardest bit.
It was like, I don't know what I look like here.
Is my face still on that runway or what's left of it?
And I suppose from being pleased I was still there, turned into fear pretty quickly.
But what the lasting impact?
Yeah, I just couldn't.
I didn't know what I looked like.
I didn't know what I'd done to myself.
And then all of a sudden, the pain started.
You know, the pain started and the blood started pouring.
Was it just agony?
Agony.
No, I was bust open all the way around here, just open.
And it was minus two.
So it was like burning.
And my face was freezing.
It was, yeah, I just wanted to get up and walk and just get away or just close my eyes.
And this hasn't happened.
I remember the news breaking, and like everyone that knows you, obviously complete horror at what I was hearing.
And then you kind of we knew you'd survive, but then you kind of disappeared.
You didn't really respond, I think, really to more than just a handful of people.
Through that period of quite a few months, what was going through your head then about why you just felt like you had to kind of cocoon yourself?
I got both hospital and the curve I got at hospital at St George's was incredible.
You know, I know the NHS and things under pressure and get scrutiny, but the people there were incredible.
You know, the current compassion they showed me.
And then when I left there after about a week, 10 days, I went home and I think as the painkillers started wearing off and the drugs, I think that's when it really started for me.
And I couldn't, I just found myself getting up in the morning sitting in the same room from 10 o'clock till midnight, not wanting to see anything, not wanting to speak to anyone.
You know, there's cameras outside my house all the time, which didn't help.
But it was just actually for the first time, it was like I didn't want to die, but I didn't know if I had it in me to carry on.
So it was tough.
And the only times I left the house actually was for medical appointments.
So I come down to London.
I'd go and see the surgeon or the dentist to get some teeth or whoever I had to see.
And then I go to the office, Richard Thompson, our mutual friend who runs the agency and we're the mecha thing of it.
So I get some nice food and have an hour just eating and chatting to people.
And that's when Rob Key, who's my boss, one of my best mates, I saw him for the first time.
I just didn't want to face the world.
I found comfort at home in a room.
How important was your family?
Because you're very, very tight with your family.
I know a lot of your family.
How important were they to help steer you out of what must have been incredibly negative thought processes all day, every day?
Yeah, massively.
Because one of the things you want is like they carry on almost as best they can.
And it was me who sat there.
I'm sure I wasn't easy.
You know, I'd cry a lot.
I'd get snappy.
I'd get angry.
The kids were incredible.
I think, you know, I've seen, I mean, did the documentary, Rachel warned them about what I was coming about.
Just carry on.
Your kids are actually very resilient, aren't they?
More than you maybe think.
Yeah.
I think that, you know, it probably just, it didn't affect them probably the way you feared it might.
Well, I had a laugh at Corey because we got doorstepped by the press and he did a mini press conference.
It was the younger one because he'd have been pressed and he'd have been what, two, two and a half at the time.
And he wouldn't come near me to begin with because I was a mess.
It's all good now.
But Rachel was strong, I suppose.
She had to be for both of us.
So, no, they were incredible.
Mum and dad are just always there.
Your parents are brilliant, yeah.
What was your mum's...
I mean, I can only imagine my mother in that kind of situation.
How was your mum about it?
Yeah, it was interesting, isn't it?
Because I come from, obviously, the north, a northern family.
And one of the things, my dad, it's like, you get on with things, don't you?
He's like, come on.
And not really mentioning it, just trying to carry on as normal as possible.
Was that helpful?
Yeah, yeah.
But then almost as well, I think, I don't really know.
It was, I found it quite hard being around them or being around people because I could see the impact it had had on them.
You know, as a mother seeing her son in that position.
And she's seen me in a lot of positions and states over the years, but nothing like this.
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You've rebuilt your life fantastically well.
You're back on television.
We'll come to some of that.
How's all this changed you, do you think?
Rebuilding Life After Trauma00:10:59
I think one of the main things is I think you realise what's important and you realize how fragile I suppose life can be as well.
And how it can turn in an instant.
Like that.
Yeah, and I want to enjoy it.
And it's not always been that easy for me at times.
And, you know, it's going back to, you know, obviously the family incredible, spending as much time I can with them and my friends.
But then also doing things I actually want to do and being more present.
Do you have a bucket list now of actual stuff like?
No, I don't think I ever have because I'm never quite sure what's going to happen next.
And I've done things and been places and seen things that I never knew existed.
Never mind.
I went a bucket list.
But I suppose the one thing is I'm more present.
So I don't know about you, Piers, but I think a lot of the time, especially with TV or cricket, you're always looking to the next thing.
Or what's the next job?
Or where am I going next?
And you don't actually allow yourself to just enjoy yourself right now.
So I think that's a big driver.
But yeah, I'm still figuring it out, Piers.
In the book, you go back over, obviously, your cricket career.
I'm delighted to say I make some appearances at your more notable moments.
And actually, one of them really is a notable mate.
2009, it's the last time you play for England.
It's at Lourdes, the most hallowed turf in cricket history.
And you take five wickets for England.
It's an amazing way to end playing for your country.
And I happened to just have the fortune to have dinner with you that night with our wives.
And we went to a pub, we had a fantastic time.
We had red wine, Guinness, you talk about it in the book.
And you had a great time.
I remember the paparazzi coming out.
And it was just a hilarious, classic, I would say, Freddy Flintoff night.
And then not long after that, you sort of decided, I'm done with drinking.
Yeah.
And I remember thinking, I've had a lot of fun with you with alcohol over the years.
And you just made a call and you stuck with it.
I mean, you've been clean for how long now?
No, a long time.
No, years.
Years.
How long?
I think 10, 9, 10 years.
Right.
And I would never have thought you could do that.
What was the catalyst for you to say, I'm actually done with this?
Because you used to enjoy it, obviously.
Yeah, I did.
And, you know, that night, it was a punch ball, Pull, one.
Yeah, it was, yeah, it was mofia.
And then you went to Richie's place.
There's about 30 paparazzi outside afterwards, and you went out in all your glory.
Here we are.
Here we are.
And they were like, actually, we're here for Freddy.
Would you mind getting out of the way?
No, I think it's not so much to drink, I suppose.
I think it's the reasons I was drinking.
You know, I had some great times, you know, ashes and games and going out with mates and nights like that.
But then it was more understanding why I was drinking at times, whether it's a change of mood or try and create a reaction.
And especially after retired, because at 31, it was everything I wanted to do and everything.
And then all of a sudden I've got nothing to do.
And, you know, I suppose there's no coincidence that I actually got back on track once I stopped and then started building another career and doing other things.
You look incredibly fit and well.
Do you ever get a yearning for a drink?
Or is that it now?
Do you think you're done?
Yeah, I see it sometimes.
I'd be nice now, wouldn't it?
And it's not something where I say never again.
We'll just see.
But at the minute, you know, I'm trying to get fit.
I'm working with the Lions, like England's next generation.
And we're going to Australia in a few weeks' time.
So I'm getting fit.
Someone tip my shirt off around the ball.
You talk very honestly about mental health in the book.
And again, when I first got to know you, you know, 20 odd years ago, you just, you know, you had the kind of persona of Freddy Flintoff, which became iconic in the 2005 Ashes, which was all shown on network television here, which made a big difference, I think, to the level of fame you guys enjoyed in that period.
But then I was told by a few people that knew you really well, you know, there are two Flintoffs, right?
There's Freddy Flintoff and there's Andrew Flintoff.
His family call him Andrew.
They don't call him Freddy.
Freddy's like this kind of slightly caricature person.
I mean, how accurate was the fact that there were basically two of you?
Yeah, it is.
I remember like 16 years of age being a professional cricketer for the first time and going into a dressing room at Lancashire full of internationals and men.
And at school, I was quiet.
He had to be at the school I went to.
I played cricket.
You know, he's like Billy Elliott, you know, playing cricket in the north of England where I grew up.
So when I went in the dressing room, I realized, actually, I'm not going to survive this.
And then started getting a bit of success.
He was actually drinking initially.
So when I was a bit older than that, we went on a tour and we're playing drinking games.
And I had to do it with cork.
And I'd next about eight pints of cork.
It was horrible.
He's like, just give that Guinness.
Let's try it with a Guinness.
And all of a sudden, I could do that.
And everyone's, wow, look at this fella.
And all of a sudden, I was one of the gang.
And it's probably developed from there.
But sport is incredible.
You know, it's not normal.
You get the chance to walk out in front of 30,000 people at Wards or the Oval and you can be whoever you want to be.
And you walk out and you want to give the impression that you're bulletproof and you've got it under control and you enjoy the crowd and you go with them.
You don't always feel like that.
But I think that was like playing a character almost like an actor.
For American viewers, where did the Freddy nickname come from?
Flintstone.
So the coach, a fellow called John Stanley, he was coaching the second team at Ancasha.
And he just called me Fred as in relation to Fred Flintstone.
And it stuck.
And I don't mind it, to be honest.
It's all right.
It just gets hard when you get older.
So like you're going on a school drop-off or you're going and I'm not quite sure what to introduce myself as.
And if someone calls me Andrew, I'll just ignore them.
And I actually realize that's my name rather than Fred.
What do you prefer being called now?
I quite like Fred.
But the public presumably call you Fred.
Yeah, it's fine.
It's all good.
And then you get interviewed, shown as Fred, but Andrew, you know, there's a few people.
My mum, my dad, my wife, Steve Armerson, one of my teammates.
David Lloyd, one of my coaches.
And Keese calls me Trevor.
Why, Trevor?
It's his middle name.
There's another, actually very poignant now, given what's happened since the book was published.
You talk about coming to LA when I was there and we saw each other.
And so I was in LA filming and I popped in to see Piers Morgan.
And then you add, I think, unnecessarily, I know, I know.
No, it's too easy.
It's okay.
It's okay.
I moved past it.
Because I wanted a media perspective.
How the press writes about mental health.
And you were doing a documentary.
It was a really good documentary about mental health.
And you said, when I was there, Piers says, have you spoken to Vinnie Jones?
Because I knew Vinny very well.
He lived out there.
Amazing success story in movies, having been a big football star and hod carry originally, you know, but gone through a lot of very difficult things in his life, including, you know, in later years, the very sad death of his wife.
And you rang him up and he said, yeah, come around.
We've got to be done by 7.30.
It's poker time, which is true.
You have to play poker with all these movie stars and stuff.
But when you saw Vinnie, for example, what kind of perspective could he give you about mental health that really resonated?
I think because you put me onto him and then I phoned him up and I was nervous about phoning Vinnie Jones up.
You know, it's Vinnie Jones.
Obviously, he's got his movie side, which we've all seen.
And he was part of the crazy gang at Wimbledon.
And you've got this persona of what someone's going to be like.
He's this big, hard fella.
And I phoned him up and he couldn't have been more nice.
He said, yeah, yeah, come over, come over.
I was in his kitchen and we're setting up.
And then he's so engaging and he's so articulate.
And he was talking about his troubles.
And then you realize, actually, this can happen to anyone.
Even like the strongest person that you ever think.
It's not like mental health, it's not selective on who it picks.
It can hit anyone.
And rightly or wrongly, I took some comfort in the fact that Vinnie Jones was able to talk so well and so openly about it.
And it made me feel a bit more at ease about some of the things that I've been through.
And, you know, we've seen it all over now.
And unfortunately, I'm going to Ricky Atten's funeral.
I was going to mention Ricky because you give a lot of credit to Ricky for helping you with your mental health stuff.
And you say, you know, you're filming a documentary of BBC.
That's the one we're talking about, the hidden side of sport.
You said, I've always liked Ricky.
Our careers run alongside each other.
He's this proper fighter, all hearts and guts, but also really warm, funny, vulnerable.
So when he talked about his struggles, it flawed me.
He opened up.
And without meaning to so did I.
I think that was the moment I realized I wasn't just presenting this thing.
I was in it.
I thought that was so powerful when it happened.
But now we have this appalling situation where Ricky has taken his life.
He's obviously, you know, he talked honestly about maybe doing that before.
How did you feel when you heard what had happened?
It's quite close to home in a lot of ways.
Ricky, one of the great men, you know, I met him years ago.
We did a thing for Sky Sports.
And I went on the pads and he started hitting me.
And I was a fan as well.
So you've got Ricky.
He's charming.
He's funny.
Our careers ran parallel with each other at the height of the same time.
I went to his fights against Costa Zoo and all these.
And had nights out in the press club in Manchester and we've sung karaoke together.
And I never knew all these things that he was struggling with till we sat down.
And when we started talking, obviously he was so honest about what he'd been going through and how he felt.
And then as he was talking, I was like, relating to it?
I see, I felt like that.
That's what I've been like.
And then it just turned into a chat between two books being really honest.
And I suppose that documentary changed and I wasn't going to give as much away about myself, but then felt obliged to actually if he's doing this.
And, you know, the similar things what we talked about, Vinny, this working class hero from Manchester, he goes into the ring, he fights all heart.
He's funny.
You see him like doing stand-up routines at press conferences and he feels like this.
And then obviously what's happened over the past two weeks has been devastating for obviously his friends, his family, but also anyone who's been in contact with Ricky.
You know, I've been in contact with his manager, Speakey, and obviously he's broken.
The Working Class Hero00:15:08
And yeah, it's just...
When did you last see him or speak to him?
I sat with him a while ago on a train.
I got on a train and he'd been somewhere, we sat together all the way back up to Manchester, like quite unexpected.
And I think it's like all these things when something like that happens and you speak and everyone says he seemed fine, he seemed all right, he's looking forward to fighting in the next few weeks out in Dubai.
There's almost a guilt upset.
It's like how people didn't know.
And the one thing I've found in recent years, over the past few years, it's happened to more and more people.
You know, we were Graham Thorpe in cricket, who absolute great man, someone who is thought of so dearly by everyone he played with and everyone he's coached.
And you know, you just feel like, I thought he would have known, but you know, it's terrible.
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The ashes are coming.
Pat Cummings, the captain of Australia, his injuries haven't cleared up in time.
He's like, he may miss at least one, two tests.
Maybe they'll be...
I'm trying to say that without smiling.
I'm jubilant at this news.
I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
I mean, that's a massive...
It is, but you want to play him with him in, don't you?
Well, that's the interesting thing, because in 05, you guys took on the best of the best.
Glenn McGrath got injured.
Yeah.
But that's the thing.
But when he was injured.
He was so happy.
Exactly.
He stood on a cricket ball and then we're all looking around.
It feels a bit like that this time.
Their talisman, their captain, their leader, their best bowler, has basically done the Glen McGrath.
Yeah, I'm sure that in some ways the lads will be looking at that smiling, but then in others, they think, actually, we do want to play against the best side.
And Pat Cummins, he's incredible and he's led that side as the bowler.
But looking at the two teams, it's going to be so good.
It's probably a 50-50 game, isn't it?
What do you make of this England team then?
What do you make of the way we play?
Because in a way, your mate, Rob Keyes, fantastic guy, Baz McCullum, the coach, Ben Stokes, very much a flint-off warrior type of all-rounder.
What they've cultivated is a team that plays basically in your image, right?
It's aggressive, it's attacking, it's got a flair, it never takes a step back, it's always on the front foot.
I mean, it's a flint-off mentality.
Kind of.
I think they've gone again, aren't they?
You know, the job that Keese, Bars and Ben have done is incredible.
You just can't wait to turn the TV on to watch England play cricket.
That's not always been the case.
I think we tried 2005, we nearly got there.
But these lads are seeing it through.
You know, the rate in which they score at, the way in which they play, more importantly, the way they are as lads as well.
You talk about team spirit and an environment.
You know, you walk into that dressing room and it's just the best place to be.
You know, incredible cricketers.
You know, Joe Root for me, possibly.
The best ever now.
Best ever.
I'd go further than English.
I think.
Yeah, I just think he's.
He's the best of all time.
He's up there, isn't he?
Beyond like the Mount Rushmore type thing.
And then you've got the captain Ben, England's second best all-rounder.
After both of them.
He's just a leader of men.
I was choosing an all-time great England team the other day and I ended up choosing you, Ben and Beefy.
Oh, I would as well.
Because why not?
What a team.
Yeah.
The three of you.
Five, six, seven.
Yes.
Beefy want mine back in eight.
No, but it's so good.
And I think one, to work in that now and be around him.
But I think more importantly as a fan.
You know, when Keysy spoke about Johnny getting involved, I want a part of this.
I want to be involved in this because it's exciting.
It's cricket, how it should be played.
We're good people as well.
What else for you?
I mean, do you have a plan?
No.
Do you care about having a...
I mean, just one of the things of having a near-death experience that actually, well, okay, what will be will be?
Why bother making plans?
Because it can all get thrown out anyway.
It's quite loose anyway, but even more so now.
Like we were saying before, one of the things is I love doing what I do with Alliance.
I love that job.
And, you know, you get asked other questions, but I don't see it as a stepping stone to anything else.
At this moment in time, I'm working with these young lads and hopefully helping them.
Including one of your boys.
Yeah, he's been on a few tours.
Rocky.
Yeah, he's doing all right.
I've seen footage of who bats exactly like you.
Yeah, he plays the same shots.
Yeah, he's a bit bigger.
And Corey's brother, he's down at Kent.
Yeah.
So that's interesting.
I mean, what's it like being that?
I mean, obviously.
It's horrible.
I've been a dad on a touchline.
When you're a dad on a touchline and they're playing for England Lions or their county or whatever, what's that feeling like?
Yeah, the standard answer is they're all my lads.
However, you know, when we picked him, obviously you get some stick.
You know, people saying this, that, and the other.
One of them was quite funny on Twitter or X saying, he's only picked him, then he can save on childcare.
But you just want him to do well.
Yeah.
You know, even as kids when they were younger, you sit there.
I just want to sit on my own and just watch him because whatever nerves I used to get playing, it's like times 10 watching your kids.
And you got runs in one game in Australia.
And luckily I had my sunglasses on.
And I was trying to play it really cool.
Were you in tears?
I was trying not to be.
Yeah, it was like, this lad is incredible.
And then Corey's made his debut for Kent, played first-class cricket this year and played in the one day still, the Metro Bank.
It's amazing.
Because I remember these kids and they were literally a bit of a ball.
But you just see, because all the way through, they've carried probably extra pressure to the other kids, along with Michael Bonds, lad.
And just to see him getting some success and doing what they want to do.
And it's not all been plain sailing.
You know, I've got it wrong as a parent.
But now, hopefully, they're going to be all right.
In terms of your mental health, where are you now, do you think?
I don't know.
Because you've been on quite a long roller coaster that predates the crash.
Yeah.
I suppose it's always work in progress.
You know, I think the crash changed things a hell of a lot.
We haven't even discussed the fact you're in a Morgan car.
Say that I was smiling.
Please.
The moment I saw that, I'll tell you.
Here we go.
He's done another.
Yeah, I don't know.
After the crash, I had all types of different treatment from trauma cur to psychiatric curve to cognitive tests.
I did that and the other.
And I stopped after a while.
And, you know, whether it's right or wrong, I've got to get on with this.
And there are triggers and there's, I say, there's PTSD and flashbacks.
And every time I go to bed at night, I'm back.
Do you drive now?
Yeah, I've only been driving about four months.
How do you find that?
Yeah, I'm all right now.
To begin with, I was a bit nervy.
You know, even playing golf for a long period of time, I've taken golf up in the past few years and love it.
I wouldn't drive the golf boogie.
Really?
Yeah.
And I can't walk because I mean these are bad.
So I get one of my mates to drive.
So I've been driving about four months now and I'm all right now.
It was an adjustment to begin with, just being sat behind the wheel and getting all them thoughts back.
But I'm better than I was.
But I suppose it's just always going to be something I've got to keep aware of.
I mean, it's fascinating to see the way your life has played out, just having known you throughout most of it, through the really like apparently fun, carefree times.
I mean, I remember, for example, in the book, you talk about the pedalo game.
And I had dinner with you.
I had dinner with you in Barbados.
You did.
You did.
In Daphne's.
Yeah, and exactly.
Very good memory.
I mean, a lovely dinner, but I remember that affecting you a lot more than people realized.
You really felt you'd let everybody down and you took that very to heart.
And I remember being quite taken aback, thinking, well, it's just another funny Fred escapade.
You know, you'd been trying to get to a boat, but there was a bit of a party and you took a peddler and you capsized.
I mean, you can probably laugh about it now.
But I remember, because of the opprobrium that fell on you at the time, I remember how seriously you took that and how much it hurt you.
And that made me realize there was a lot more to you perhaps than I'd realized.
Yeah.
I suppose with the Pedlaw and then some of the other things that I'd done, you don't want to let people down.
I remember Bumble, when he was coaching me.
David Lloyd, David Lloyd, he said, he said, don't do anything that you won't be proud of.
Well, that's one, isn't it?
And with the pedlar, you know, I think after 2005, everyone took us into the arts, and that side, they still talk about it now.
You saw the parades afterwards, you saw what it meant to cricket, and all of a sudden your life's elevated and you're doing more and more.
I think the 2006, 7 Ashes, where we got beat 5-0 and I was captain, I didn't cover myself in glory.
And then leading on to the Pedlaw, I felt I've let people down and a sense of shame almost.
And I wasn't quite right in myself.
I only felt let down because he didn't reach the yacht.
Yeah.
And it's like, if you're going to do it, you've got to at least get there.
I thought it was going to Ian Bothams.
But it wasn't...
It was Tim Rice.
I didn't know that.
So, yeah.
I'm not sure he'd have found it very funny.
Was both of them even on it?
No, I don't think he was.
So you were going to raid Tim Rice's yacht without him knowing.
Well, no, the plan was.
We got beat against New Zealand and all the lads went out.
And I wasn't going to go out, but then I got fed up in my room.
So I just went and had a few rung corks at a bar and went to another bar.
I was drinking one of the umpires for a bit.
And to get back, I had to cross the beach.
I saw these boats out to see.
I knew DM Botham was on one of them.
I thought it must be the big one.
So I thought I'd go and see him.
And the only thing I could find to try and get there was a pedal.
And I couldn't get on it because the waves were breaking.
And then the security guard helped me back.
And I woke up the next morning just covered in sand.
And it was like, we've all been there for ever.
Yeah, never again.
Have you been on a pedal since?
Yeah.
I went on one for a sketch for sport relief.
It was actually the first time I've probably been on one.
But even now we're going holding.
And the kids.
The moment you move in for one.
The kids are like, oh, should we?
And I'm about.
Yeah, but I know I could get a picture there.
Well, you would if you stayed on it.
It would be like finally.
Yeah.
Do your kids look at you when they know all about, when they maybe you see the book, the boys are old enough now to read the book.
What do you think they'll make of your life in totality?
Varied.
It's been varied.
I think the massive, they love cricket run there.
So they've always been interested on the cricket and it's not something that I really speak about in the house or talk about too much.
I remember years ago, they were playing the 2005 Ashes on Sky and I was in the house and they're watching it and they were younger.
And they're like looking at the TV, they're looking at me and he went, is that you?
This fellow with a bald head and an earring, you know, running in.
So we've never really spoke about it, but it's happening more and more now.
And I think from them, I think seeing me coach and seeing them in a different light, they're happier with.
How are you going to explain with your boys who are now playing top-level cricket that one of your greatest innings, if not your greatest ever innings, 140 odd against South Africa?
I remember watching it.
You bludgeoned South Africa's pace of tacts.
According to your book, it contains the revelation that you did this after drinking 13 pints the night before with your mate, Army.
Yeah, it wasn't in the plans that.
No, but how are you going to explain that they shouldn't also drink 13 pints?
No, I've stamped that out.
I mean, I passed it off the 13 pints.
It's do as I say or not about that very much.
The game's changed.
The game's changed.
But that was an incredible revelation to me.
13 pints and then you went and battered like that.
Yeah, I think it just freed me up a little bit.
It wasn't in the pan.
Captain was a little concerned about what may happen when he saw the study of you.
Well, he tried to give me a bullicon, didn't he?
Michael Vaughan.
Michael Vaughan the night before.
It's me and Steve Harmerson, one of my teammates, got stuck in the bar.
And then he was out overnight.
So Michael, the captain's game, was over.
And he came back in late and me and Steve were still there.
And he tried to have a go at me and it was well, just let me back first.
I'm going to get an 100.
And somehow I did.
So it was not the way I wanted to carry on my career.
The worst moment of my life, but comfortably, actually, when I think about it, involved you.
And it was the 2005 Ashes, the Oval, the final game.
And we won.
And you were on the balcony.
And I was in a box with my brother, my younger brother, Rupert, good mate of yours.
And you started doing like, tonight, you know, we're going to party.
And Rupert was like, Fred, we're going to drink with them.
We're going to celebrate with an England team.
And then I suddenly remembered I had to go to Birmingham to do a book signing for my book, The Insider at the time.
So I got in a car and drove off to Birmingham.
And I started getting messages from my little brother, who was with you.
11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock.
The Iconic Ashes Moment00:03:14
And so it went on.
And I came back the next day and I picked up a copy of the Evening Standard newspaper, London's most prestigious newspaper.
And the front page picture was you slumped in a chair in a bar of a hotel and standing right behind you was my brother.
And that could have been me.
It could have been my iconic hashes moment.
That was the most missed opportunity, the most stupid decision I've ever made in my life.
But you were doing a book signing in Birmingham.
And even when I got there, they weren't that bothered.
They said, we should have just stayed there.
It's second one for the team in Birmingham, Rupert.
What is the, for you, when, just to wrap things up, but when you, if I had the power to relive one moment from your cricket career, which one would you choose of all of them?
Good question.
Your mind automatically goes back to failures to try and rectify them.
However, I've just been talking about it's easy to go back to 2005.
I have, as a kid, they're my fondest memories, but then as a professional cricketer, that feeling in 2005 when they said we've won.
And then we go back in the dressing room and not quite sure what to do with ourselves and experiencing emotions that I can't even explain or never knew I had.
And then you look out the window and you walk back onto the pitch and you look around to see the crowd, the union jacks, the people, the St. George's crosses, everyone singing and shouting, all come out for us.
It was like, I never in my wildest dreams expected any of this.
And it is incredible.
And just for the record, who did piss in the garden at number 10 down the street?
Simon Jones.
Was it?
Yes.
Fantastic.
Fantastic.
Because the finger of suspicion lay on you for a long time.
Yeah, I got rumbled in the cabinet room holding my own meeting.
Really?
Yeah, so I went for a walk around the house because I'd had a few.
And then ended up just opening doors.
So I ended up and I found this room.
It was a cabinet room.
So I sat in a Prime Minister's chair with my feet on the table, I think, with a bottle of Beck.
Tony Blair was Prime Minister.
Yeah, and just going around asking questions, like, oh, I'm secretary.
Have you got, oh, you know.
And then I got kicked out by a policeman.
A policeman came to the door.
He goes, all right, Fred, you've had your phone now.
Yeah, so.
It was.
I remember when you guys came out and Trafalgar Square and the open top.
I'd never seen scenes like it for cricket.
For football, you'd expect it.
That was the year that cricket became as big as football in this country.
I think because 12 million watched it on terrestrial television, that made a big difference, I think.
But it was such a joyous thing, wasn't it?
Yeah.
And notwithstanding all the pitfalls that followed, I don't think you'd change anything, would you?
From that whole time.
I mean, it propelled you into a new level of fame and all the stuff that comes with it.
But it's like you get asked, don't you?
So how the games change and sports got more professional.
And I've entertained the thought, actually, would I do it any differently?
I think.
A Decade of Cricket Fame00:01:48
No, why would you?
Fred, you should never change.
Never.
I mean, I think you've always been your own man.
I've always felt with you.
Own you a long time.
I have enormous respect for you because you've always been true to yourself.
And it doesn't mean you've always known exactly what that is.
No.
But you've always been true to yourself.
And I think that's a really admirable quality.
You've never tried to be anybody else or never tried to be something you're not.
There's two of me anyway.
There's no room for another.
I feel like I've got a bit of Andrew and Fred today, which is probably the best combination.
I've just got peers.
You'll be devastated to learn.
There's only one of me.
Oh, man.
And the real one's probably just as bad as this one.
It's a beautiful thing.
Freddie Flintoff, Coming Home, The Moments That Made Me, is out now.
It's a brilliant book.
And actually, even if you are American and you're wondering what the hell we've been talking about for the last 40 minutes, it's actually a book about life, about humanity, about adversity, about resilience, about all the things that make us tick.
You sell it better than me, geez.
I know, mate.
You should be paying me for this.
But as it says on the back, a split-second decision is all it takes.
Decision that can change the course of a cricket match, maybe even change the course of your life.
We all have them.
How you deal with those moments can determine whether you live or die and what kind of life you have.
And it's an amazing book for that reason.
Fred, great to see you.
Thanks, Piers.
It is great to see you.
Honestly, I've been looking forward to this for a long time.
Thank you.
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