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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lisa McLoughlin

Paddy McGuinness reflects on horror Top Gear crash that left him battling panic attacks

Paddy McGuinness has recalled how his horror Top Gear car crash impacted his health and left him suffering panic attacks.

Back in 2020, the presenter crashed a £250,000 1990 Lamborghini Diablo while filming for the BBC series in North Yorkshire after he skidded on oil at a slight curve in the road.

Speaking on the Restless Natives podcast, the star revealed he hit a wall close to 80mph, which left his “brain rattling” and suffering panic attacks in the wake of the shocking crash.

He said: “I hit a wall at about 70 or 80 miles an hour. You could feel your brains rattling.

“Thank the Lord I walked away from it. But I remember that night being in my bed at the hotel and literally having a bit of a panic attack.”

McGuinness also touched on co-star Freddie Flintoff's crash last December, which saw him seriously injured.at Top Gear's test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.

Flintoff reached a settlement with the BBC, said to be worth £9m. The payout will come from the commercial arm of the BBC and not from the licence fee.

Speaking about the former English cricketer's experience, the Take Me Out host said: “It stays with you. Especially what he's gone through.”

Last month,McGuinness broke his silence after the BBC announced that Top Gear would not be returning “for the foreseeable future”.

The broadcaster confirmed that it had “decided to rest” the hit motoring show. 

Uploading a slew of images celebrating their time on the show, he captioned his post: “We were always going to be bellends but we were your bellends.

“Thanks for all the love over the years folks, it was very much appreciated,” the 50-year-old, Lancashire-born star added.

In its statement, the BBC stressed that it “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”.

Adding: “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.”

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