Freddie Flintoff terrified in ‘horrific’ Top Gear bungee jump car stunt
The former cricketer was hoisted up a 400ft dam in Switzerland for one of Top Gear’s most terrifying challenges.
Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff is visibly terrified before bungee jumping from a great height in a car in the first episode of the new series of Top Gear.
The presenter is seen inside a Rover Metro cabriolet from the 1990s being hoisted up the side of a 400ft dam in Switzerland in a tense preview clip.
As the car is pulled up the great height, Flintoff utters: “Oh, get this over with.”
Gripping the wheel and looking uncomfortable, he adds: “This is one of the most horrific things I’ve ever done.”
Flintoff’s co-presenter Chris Harris speaks to him via a walkie talkie ahead of the stunt, telling him “Fred, it’s your good friend Chris Harris here”, to which the former cricketer does not respond.
Harris adds: “OK, I’m going to give you a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and on go, you will go.”
As Harris starts the countdown, Flintoff says “Shit, here we go”, preparing to plunge down the side of the dam.
The full stunt will air in Sunday’s episode of Top Gear.
The bungee jump, described as “one of the most terrifying sequences” to ever be shot on the show, was conducted in the name of research.
The presenters were trying to prove that the old 1990s Rover can accelerate faster than a new Ariel Atom car, which is reviewed by Harris in the same episode.
Top Gear’s executive producer Alex Renton said: “How do you make a car accelerate faster than an Ariel Atom for less money?
“Simple, you get one of the highest dams in the world, an old Rover Metro, a long piece of elastic and a presenter with no fear.
“Add gravity and you have one of the most terrifying sequences I have ever shot on the show.”
Top Gear, with Flintoff, Harris and Paddy McGuinness, returns to BBC Two at 8pm on Sunday.
