Freddie Flintoff's wife 'put through hell' and son's snub ahead of Bullseye return

Freddie Flintoff makes his television comeback this weekend as he presents Bullseye on Sunday evening. The cricket icon has revealed that the programme's revival was what enticed him back to the small screen following his devastating Top Gear crash.

Bullseye made a comeback for a special Christmas episode in 2024 but is now returning for a complete series. Last year, Flintoff was accompanied by teenage darts prodigy Luke Littler, and whilst he was initially worried about how the reboot would be welcomed, audiences adored it. Beyond his duties as a beloved television host, Flintoff has begun coaching and served as the head coach of the Northern Superchargers cricket team throughout the summer.

Flintoff's 16-year-old son, Rocky, is also a cricketer, and despite his father being the Superchargers' boss at the time, Rocky was overlooked at the Hundred draft earlier this year. Last month, Flintoff disclosed that he will no longer coach in the Hundred, believing that he deserves more than what the franchise's owners had put forward.

"I genuinely don't do it for the money, although it's nice, but I'm worth more than just over a quarter of the [salary of] other head coaches," Flintoff told the podcast. "I wasn't encouraged they wanted me anyway, but then also you want to feel valued. So I said that it's not going to work for me, and they weren't going to move on it."

Three years ago, Flintoff suffered an accident whilst filming Top Gear, which resulted in lasting facial injuries. He spent eight months in seclusion but has impressively returned to television. Standing by him throughout this ordeal has been his wife, Rachel Wools.

The pair wed two decades ago and share four children - Holly, Corey, Preston, and Rocky - with their youngest pursuing sporting excellence, just like his father. But despite their 20-year union, their marriage has faced its share of difficulties.

The television personality and cricket legend acknowledges he subjected his wife to a marriage of "hell" with his mental health struggles and drinking problems.

"Looking back, I feel for the missus. She used to get the worst of me," he wrote in his 2015 memoir. "She didn't come out and celebrate when we won - that was with the lads - and I'd rock in at five in the morning, stinking and falling over.

"When we lost, she'd see me drowning my sorrows in the corner. And then your career is all over. You can understand why cricketers' marriages break down. If the shoe was on the other foot, I might have just said, 'You know what, sod this.'"

Discussing his return to host Bullseye, Flintoff told The Sun: "I've not done much TV recently, I'd not presented anything and did Bullseye for a few reasons.

"One, I really like darts. And I used to watch Bullseye back in the '80s. I never thought that I'd get the chance to present Bullseye. I always wanted to be a cricketer, I didn't want to be Jim Bowen.

"It was fun when we did the Christmas special last year and it seemed to be really well received. If you like darts and want to see people try and win something, have a watch."