Freddie's food fight

Freddie Flintoff on the eating disorder he’s struggled with for more than 20 years

- HANNAH DAVIES, SEAN MARLAND, IAN MACEWAN

Top Gear presenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff was one of the sporting heroes of 2005 as part of the England cricket team that beat Australia to win the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

But behind the fame and glory, the all-rounder was hiding a secret, as he reveals in the emotional, no-holds-barred BBC documentary Freddie Flintoff: Living with Bulimia.

‘Throughout my career I’ve lived with the eating disorder bulimia,’ reveals the 42-year-old. ‘It’s such a hard thing to define or even admit. What nobody knew during the first Test of that 2005 Ashes series was that I was regularly being sick. You had to plan it, though – I’m in a dressing room full of people, and my biggest fear was getting caught.’

CRITICISMS

Flintoff ’s eating disorder began in 1998 when he made his debut for England against South Africa and was vilified in the press for his 19-stone frame.