Top Gear faces being 'reined in' by the BBC with stunts dialled down if it is ... trends now
Top Gear could be 'reined in' by the BBC to dial down stunts on the show after a crash which caused presenter Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff to quit.
The show's high-speed and high adrenaline stunts face being tamed after Flintoff, 45, left his role as co-host following an accident while filming at a test track on December 13 last year.
Filming has since been stopped, and the BBC are now considering if the show will continue this year amid a health and safety review.
Reports suggested the former cricketer was 'lucky to be alive' after the car he was driving – an open-topped three-wheel 130mph Morgan Super 3 which doesn't have air bags – flipped over at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey.
He was airlifted to hospital with facial injuries and broken ribs.
Filming on the series was suspended while Flintoff, who presents the show alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris, recovered from his injuries and investigations took place.
The show's high-speed and high adrenaline stunts face being tamed after Flintoff (pictured) left his role as co-host following an accident while filming at a test track on December 13 last year
Filming on the series was suspended while Flintoff (left) who presents the show alongside Paddy McGuinness (right) and Chris Harris (centre) recovered from his injuries
Reports suggested said the father-of-four had decided to leave the programme before the BBC confirmed it was halting filming of the next series, which had been set for release in the autumn.
After the incident his 16-year-old son Corey told MailOnline: 'He's OK. I'm not too sure what happened but he is lucky to be alive. It was a pretty nasty crash. It is shocking. We are all shocked but just hope he's going to be OK.'
The incident was said to have left the cast and crew 'reeling from the shock', with concerns over the future of the show which has had a history of serious crashes.
It's not the first time a presenter of the show has been injured during filming. In 2006, former co-host Richard Hammond, 53, spent two weeks in a coma after crashing in a jet-propelled car, in which he hoped to break the British land speed record, at over 300mph.
He was left with life-changing side effects, including post-traumatic amnesia – and now fears his worsening memory could be dementia caused by the crash.
According to the Times, the BBC may now seek to 'rein in' the show and dial down the high-speed stunts it has become known for.
It previously emerged that Flintoff did not tell his family (pictured) about stunts he was part of in the show, as he didn't want them to worry
Flintoff was driving a three-wheeled open-topped Morgan Super 3 car (pictured) when it flipped over
The TV presenter, pictured here on a motorised trike during filming for a previous series of the show, is said to be 'determined' to return to screens at some point
'The programme has had a couple of incidents in its history and we might need to look a bit harder at whether we are getting the balance right,' a source told the newspaper.
It comes after it emerged that Flintoff did not tell his family about stunts he was part of in the show, as he didn't want them to worry.
In an interview Flintoff gave while on the show, he revealed that he kept his stunts a secret from his family until they had aired.
'Sometimes you don't want to tell the family, you don't went them going about their day thinking: 'Oh is he alright?'', he said.
According to the Mirror, co-host Paddy added: 'In ours, they
