Andrew Flintoff has praised the “love and compassion” of “superhero” staff in a visit to the hospital that treated him after his crash.

The cricket legend was seriously injured during the incident on the Top Gear track in Surrey in December 2022.

He was airlifted to St George’s in Tooting, with a surgeon calling Flintoff’s injuries some of the most complex he’s seen.

“I just want to say a massive thank you to all the staff at St George’s,” Flintoff said, as he returned to the London hospital.

“I came here probably the lowest I’ve ever been, in need of help and the expertise, the love, the compassion they showed me was incredible.

“I’ll be eternally grateful – absolute superheroes.”

Jahrad Haq, a maxillofacial surgeon, said he knew immediately the case was something out of the ordinary.

“I was on call that day and received a phone call from the emergency department consultant,” said Mr Haq.

“A lot of injuries are managed at a more junior level before escalating, so I knew this one was serious.

“Of all the trauma cases I’ve seen in over 20 years, this was among the most complex.”

Flintoff was also pictured on his visit meeting lead dental nurse Linda Holden and principal orthodontic nurse Sonia Steer.

Shamim Umarji, who also treated the 47-year-old, said it was “wonderful to see Freddie again and his visit gave staff a real boost”.

“He spent a lot of time chatting to everyone and it meant a lot,” added the trauma and orthopaedic surgeon.

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Flintoff previously described how he thought he had died in the accident – which saw him “pulled face-down on the runway” for about 50m under a three-wheel car.

The incident led to the BBC pulling the plug on Top Gear and it remains unclear if it will ever return.

Hollywood actor Brian Cox has told Sky News that Donald Trump is talking “bollocks” after suggesting there should be 50 or 75 years between Scottish independence referendums.

The US president said a country “can’t go through that too much” when questioned by reporters during his visit to Scotland this week.

The Emmy-winning star, who is an independence supporter, has hit back, branding him “that idiot in America”.

The 79-year-old told Sky News: “He’s talking bollocks. I’m sorry, but he does. It’s rubbish. Let’s get on with it and let’s get it [independence] done. We can do it.

“It’s been tough as there’s a great deal of undermining that has gone on.”

SNP fraud probe causing ‘harm’

Mr Cox said the police fraud investigation examining the SNP’s finances has done “enormous harm” to the party and wider independence movement.

Nicola Sturgeon was arrested as part of the long-running police probe but cleared of any wrongdoing earlier this year.

The former first minister’s estranged husband Peter Murrell, who was SNP chief executive for two decades, appeared in court in April to face a charge of alleged embezzlement. He has entered no plea.

Brian Cox is preparing to return to the Scottish stage for the first time in a decade in a play about the Royal Bank of Scotland’s role in the 2008 financial crash.

Ahead of the Edinburgh festival performances, the veteran actor told Sky News: “I think it’s a masterpiece. It’s certainly one of the best pieces of work I’ve been involved in.

‘My friend Spacey should be forgiven’

The Succession star was also asked about his “old friend” Kevin Spacey.

The former House of Cards actor, 65, was exiled from the showbiz world in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct.

Spacey has admitted to “being too handsy” in the past and “touching someone sexually” when he didn’t know they “didn’t want him to”.

Spacey stood trial in the UK for multiple sexual offences against four men in July 2023 but was acquitted on all counts.

Mr Cox told Sky News: “I am so against cancel culture. Kevin has made a lot of mistakes, but there is a sort of viciousness about it which is unwarranted.

“Everybody is stupid as everybody else. Everybody is capable of the same mistakes and the same sins as everybody else.”

Asked if he could see a return to showbiz for Spacey, Cox replied: “I would think so eventually, but it’s very tough for him.

“He was tricky, but he has learnt a big lesson. He should be allowed to go on because he is a very fine actor. I just think we should be forgiving.”

He concluded: “What is the joy you get out of kicking somebody in the balls when they are down? That is what I cannot stand.”

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has warned of a musical “silence” that would come without the pubs and bars that give UK artists their first chance to perform.

Fresh from headlining Glastonbury in June, Healy is backing a new UK-wide festival which will see more than 2,000 gigs taking place across more than 1,000 “seed” venues in September.

The Seed Sounds Weekender aims to celebrate the hospitality sector hosting bands and singers just as they are starting out – and for some, before they go on to become global superstars.

Healy, who is an ambassador for the event, said in a statement to Sky News: “Local venues aren’t just where bands cut their teeth, they’re the foundation of any real culture.

“Without them, you don’t get The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, or The 1975. You get silence.”

Oasis, currently making headlines thanks to their sold-out reunion tour, first played at Manchester’s Boardwalk club, which closed in 1999, and famously went on to play stadiums and their huge Knebworth gigs within the space of a few years.

GigPig, the live music marketplace behind Seed Sounds, says the seed sector collectively hosts more than three million gigs annually, supports more than 43,000 active musicians, and contributes an estimated £2.4bn to the UK economy.

“The erosion of funding for seed and grassroots spaces is part of a wider liberal tendency to strip away the socially democratic infrastructure that actually makes art possible,” said Healy.

“What’s left is a cultural economy where only the privileged can afford to create, and where only immediately profitable art survives.”

He described the Seed Sounds Weekender as “a vital reminder that music doesn’t start in boardrooms or big arenas – it starts in back rooms, pubs, basements, and independent spaces run on love, grit, and belief in something bigger.”

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The importance of funding for grassroots venues has been highlighted in the past few years, with more than 200 closing or stopping live music in 2023 and 2024, according to the Music Venue Trust. Sheffield’s well-known Leadmill venue saw its last gig in its current form in June, after losing a long-running eviction battle.

In May, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the £85m Creative Foundations Fund to support arts venues across England.

And last year, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for a levy on tickets to large concerts at stadiums and arenas to help fund grassroots venues, which artists including Coldplay and Katy Perry, and venues including the Royal Albert Hall, have backed.

But most seed venues – the smaller spaces in the hospitality sector that provide a platform before artists get to ticketed grassroots gigs or bigger stages – won’t qualify for the levy. GigPig is working to change this by formalising the seed music venue space as a recognised category.

“The UK’s seed venues are where music careers are born,” said GigPig co-founder Kit Muir-Rogers. “Collectively, this space promotes more music than any other in the live music business, yet it has gone overlooked and under-appreciated.”

The Seed Sounds Weekender takes place from 26-28 September and will partner with Uber to give attendees discounted rides to and from venues.

Tickets for most of the gigs will be free, with events taking place across 20 UK towns and cities including London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Leicester, Newcastle and Southampton