Top Gear’s new presenters: What you need to know

Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff have been confirmed as the new presenters for BBC Two motoring series Top Gear.

Here are five things you need to know about each of the hosts:

Paddy McGuinness

1. McGuinness, 45, had his big break in TV alongside comedian Peter Kay, appearing in spoof documentary series That Peter Kay Thing in 2000 before starring in popular spin-off Phoenix Nights, both on Channel 4.

McGuinness and Kay joined forces again for another spin-off sitcom, Max And Paddy’s Road To Nowhere.

2. Since 2010, McGuinness has hosted ITV’s prime-time dating game show Take Me Out. Production for its 11th series begins in early 2019, when he also starts filming his first series of Top Gear.

McGuinness is known for a number of Take Me Out catchphrases, including the popular “no likey, no lighty.”

3. In 2017, McGuinness joined forces with Celebrity Juice presenter Leigh Francis, best known as Keith Lemon, for their ITV series The Keith And Paddy Picture Show, a comedy parody which sees them recreate their favourite films.

4. Along with his TV career, McGuinness has toured several times over the years, performing stand-up across the UK.

He is also known for taking part in annual celebrity charity football match Soccer Aid, raising money for Unicef.

5. McGuinness married model Christine Martin in 2011, and they have three children – five-year-old twins Penelope and Leo, and daughter Felicity, who was born in 2016.

McGuinness and his wife last year revealed their twins have autism, and they have both been vocal on raising children with the condition.

Freddie Flintoff

1. Flintoff – real name Andrew – made his debut in cricket as a talented teenager, playing for county side Lancashire in 1995, before going on to earn his international stripes for England.

He made his Test Match debut in 1998 against South Africa and quickly became a household name.

2. Flintoff’s sporting career took a new turn in 2005 when he helped the national team regain the Ashes from Australia, and he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

He was awarded an MBE in 2006, but retired from professional cricket in 2010 due to a recurring knee injury.

3. Since taking a step away from cricket, Flintoff has carved out a career as a broadcaster, and in 2010 became a team captain alongside retired footballer Jamie Redknapp in Sky One’s sports panel show A League Of Their Own.

The programme, hosted by James Corden, has since won a TV Bafta and is now set to air its 13th series.

4. Flintoff, 40, has starred in several other TV programmes, including documentaries Alone In The Wild and Freddie Flintoff Goes Wild, both on the Discovery Channel, and The Hidden Side Of Sport on BBC One.

He won the Australian version of reality series I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2015, and in 2017 co-hosted ITV water-based obstacle game show Cannonball. He made his acting debut in an episode of BBC drama series Love, Lies And Records last year.

He has also presented a number of programmes on BBC Radio 5 Live, and he currently co-hosts the podcast Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy along with Robbie Savage and Matthew Syed.

5. Flintoff married Rachael Wools in 2005, and the couple have three children together – 14-year-old daughter Holly, 12-year-old son Corey and 10-year-old son Rocky.