New Top Gear presenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff was the special guest at a charity lunch in aid of St Ann’s Hospice.

The celebrity entertained an audience of more than 220 people at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa with stories about his colourful career.

Flintoff starts filming the next series of the BBC1 motoring show shortly with co-presenter Paddy McGuinness.

The former England cricketer joked: “Top Gear is shown all around the world but with two presenters with strong northern accents even viewers in the south of England might need sub-titles.”   

The event was organised by Pat and Paula Loftus, from High Legh, who have raised more than £50,000 for St Ann’s from their lunches.

Pat, a retired vice chair of Deloitte, said: “St Ann’s is one of the charities close to our hearts and we’d like to thank everyone for their generous support, especially the north west business community.”

Sporting guests included former Manchester United stars Bryan Robson and Kevin Moran, ex-Lancashire cricketer Neil Fairbrother and rugby league star Paul Sculthorpe.