The BBC says it will “rest” hit motoring show Top Gear “for the foreseeable future” following a crash that left host Andrew Flintoff seriously injured.
Production of the show has been halted since 45-year-old Flintoff – known as “Freddie” – was taken to hospital in December 2022.
In a statement, the corporation said: “Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
“The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
“We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.”
“All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.”
Former England cricket captain Flintoff was photographed in public in September for the first time since the crash. Nine months on, his facial injuries were still visible as he joined the England cricket squad for their one-day international series against New Zealand.
Following the crash, the BBC announced it would pause production on the show, co-presented by comedian Paddy McGuinness and automotive journalist Chris Harris, as it was felt it would be “inappropriate” to continue at that time.
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In October, the BBC said it had agreed a financial settlement Flintoff, reported to be worth £9m.
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Oct 23: Flintoff speaks publicly for first time since crash
A health and safety production review of Top Gear covering previous seasons before the accident found that “while BBC Studios had complied with the required BBC policies and industry best practice in making the show, there were important learnings which would need to be rigorously applied to future Top Gear UK productions”.
The report included “a number of recommendations to improve approaches to safety”.
A separate investigation into the crash concluded in March but its findings are not being published.
Previous Top Gear crashes
The accident was not the first faced by Flintoff during his time on the show. It followed a minor incident in February 2019 when he crashed into a market stall in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
And in 2006, former presenter Richard Hammond was filming for the show when he crashed a jet-powered dragster called Vampire at nearly 320mph.
The presenter spent two weeks in a coma following the incident, which took place at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York.
He recovered and returned to the show in early 2007, but revealed in February this year that he fears he has memory loss as a result.
Flintoff and McGuinness joined Harris on Top Gear in 2019, taking over from Chris Evans and Friends star Matt LeBlanc.
The show was initially launched in 1977, featuring a range of presenters and reporters in a half-hourly slot on BBC Two which proved popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
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Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing
The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.
The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.
The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.
It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.
Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.
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Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”
Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.
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50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”
He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.
California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.
The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.
‘Men who hurt women hate women’
He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…
“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”
The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs issues an apology
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.
‘Disingenuous words’
Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.
“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”
‘Leave god and mercy out of this’
US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”
It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.
Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.
The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.
Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.
Sienna Miller has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with her daughter Marlowe Ottoline Layng Sturridge.
The 42-year-old actress, who was born in the US but brought up in the UK, has been promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga, directed by Kevin Costner.
Miller – who will appear in this film and its next instalment – plays East Coast settler Frances Kittredge, who moves to the Horizon settlement with her husband and two children.
Miller wore a pale blue floor-length gown, while 12-year-old Marlowe wore a white dress with a large pale pink bow around the waist for her red carpet debut.
Miller gave birth to Marlowe, whose father is The Sandman star Tom Sturridge, 38, in 2012.
She had a second daughter earlier this year with The Crown actor Oli Green, who also attended the premiere.
Miller and Green, 27, met at a Halloween party thrown by a mutual friend and have since moved to London together.
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Costner – who not only directs the film but also co-wrote and stars in it too – had plenty of family support on the red carpet.
The 69-year-old Hollywood star brought five of his seven children – Annie, 40, Cayden, 17, Grace, 13, Lily, 37, and Hayes, 15. The latter makes his screen acting debut in the movie.
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Horizon: An American Sagaspans four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, and is described by the studio behind it, Warner Bros, as an “ambitious cinematic adventure” telling the story of the United States of America “through the lens of families, friends and foes”.
Brace yourself for a three-hour epic – and more to come
The two-part western – of which this is the first chapter – received a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered on Sunday.
Costner also says he has scripts ready for two further instalments in the story, which would extend the epic to four parts if commissioned.
The Yellowstone star, who first pitched a version of the movie back in 1988, has plenty at stake in the project, and personally financed around $100m for the film and its sequel.
He will be hoping to emulate the success of his 1990 directorial debut Dances With Wolves, which he also starred in and produced. The movie was a box office hit, winning multiple Oscars including best picture and best director.
Horizon: An American Saga runs for over three hours and will come to UK cinemas at the end of June.
It also features Avatar star Sam Worthington, Donnie Darko actress Jena Malone and Owen Wilson’s brother Luke Wilson.
GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.
Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines.
GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.
The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.
Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.
The watchdog said the show featuring Mr Sunak was fine in principle, but “due weight” should have been given to an “appropriately wide range of significant views” other than the Tories’.
These should have happened during the programme itself or “in other clearly linked and timely programmes”.
It said Mr Sunak “had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”.
“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News,” it added.
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The channel was quick to hit back at the ruling and denied breaking the impartiality rules.
“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital,” it said.
“Our live programme gave an independently selected group of undecided voters the freedom to challenge the Prime Minister without interference,” added the channel.
It said neither producers nor the prime minister had seen the questions beforehand and Mr Sunak was kept “under constant pressure and covered a clearly diverse range of topics”.