Rory Reid said he thought Top Gear “wouldn't end well” when Flintoff and McGuinnes joined

Rory Reid said he thought that Top equipment “would not end well” when Paddy McGuinness and Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff were announced as the show's new hosts in 2019.

This came just a day after fellow star Chris Harris claimed he had warned BBC bosses about safety failings on the show before Freddie Flintoff's horror accident.

Reid, 44, a motoring journalist, said he thought the stars' appearance on the show was an “exciting development” but feared they did not have the driving experience needed to “do some of the things the BBC asked me to do”.

Flintoff, 46, a former England cricketer, was seriously injured in an accident during filming at Dunsfold Aerodrome in December 2022. He suffered facial injuries that required surgery, forcing the BBC to pause production for the “foreseeable future.”

Reid was asked on Radio times if he felt it could be “a problem” to put people like McGuinness and Flintoss in the driver's seat.

He replied, “Right away. That was my first thought, except that this is an exciting development for the show and I'm excited to see how it turns out.”

“My first thought was that these men, who I have had the privilege of watching on their journeys in entertainment and sport and who are fantastic at what they do, I don't think they have the driving experience to be able to do some of the things the BBC have asked me to do.

“Let's put it this way: whether the BBC gave them extra teaching and time and looked after them sufficiently to put them in situations where they felt comfortable and safe, I cannot judge because I was not there.

“But if you were to ask me based on my experience, would it turn out well to put someone without that driving experience in those situations?

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“I didn't think it was going to end well. That was my first thought when I heard who was going to be on the show.”

He went on to say he thought the show was “sometimes inherently dangerous” and said he had asked the BBC for additional training.

He said: “The first thing I would say is that the show is inherently dangerous on occasion, simply by virtue of the fact that you're driving heavy machinery, very fast cars, very powerful cars, very fast, in a way that makes it look good on television.

“So this isn't about people just jumping in a car and driving down the streets at 30 miles an hour. This is about driving them in a way that's exciting and fun.”

“And that’s pretty difficult if you don’t have any experience driving fast and don’t understand the driving dynamics and the things that can go right or wrong very quickly.

“So when you combine that with the fact that I think the BBC, and Top Gear in particular, want to make the show entertaining and very exciting, there's a tendency or potential for things to go wrong very quickly.”

Regarding his request for further training, he added: “At some point I sat back and said to myself: I don't think they know enough about my driving skills.

“And that and they're pushing me to a point where I feel like I need to be better equipped to deal with some of the things they're asking of me.

“So I was actually the one who asked them to give me extra training. I think it was my second season that I said, 'Look, can you give me extra lessons on the special stunts you asked us to do for this show?'

“And finally, they gave me a few hours to practice with a stunt driver some of the maneuvers they occasionally ask us to do.

“But no, when you do the show, you're not getting a driving lesson. They're not going to sit you down and give you a five-day course in high-performance driving. They're going to expect you to be able to do what they ask of you.”

It is believed that the BBC required the presenters to take driving tests before inviting them to Top Gear and that they later received further training.

The company says all three of the show's most recent hosts earned international racing and commercial truck driving licenses during their time on the show.

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A BBC spokesperson said: “The independent health and safety review of Top Gear production, which looked at previous seasons, found that while BBC Studios followed required BBC guidelines and industry best practice in producing the show, there were important findings that must be rigorously applied to future Top Gear UK productions.”

“The report made a number of recommendations to improve safety approaches, given that Top Gear is a complex programme production environment, regularly having to cope with tight filming schedules and ambitious editorial expectations – challenges often faced by long-running shows with an established on- and off-screen team.

“The learnings included a detailed action plan with changes in the way we work, such as greater clarity on roles and responsibilities and better communication between teams for every future Top Gear production.”

Former host Chris Harris had previously stated on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that he had warned the BBC before Flintoff’s crash that “someone is going to die on this show.”

Additional reporting by agencies