Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams was a shining light in bleak times – the BBC has shelved its most life-affirming show

The BBC has sadly confirmed there are no plans for a fourth season of Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, one of the best, most uplifting documentary series to hit our screens in recent years. In an age where reality commissioning either leans towards perma-tanned castmates having rows fuelled by producers, or PR-managed, glossy docuseries (David and Victoria Beckham, I’m looking at you), Field of Dreams was a shining light.

Its premise was simple: former all-rounder Flintoff – one of the few England cricketers to reach household name status – would return to his home city of Preston, and inspire teenagers in the former mill town to give the notoriously posh sport a go. But, as the Ashes winner soon found out, convincing a lively crew of working-class kids to don their cricket whites would not be easy.

The first season, which arrived like a breath of fresh air in 2022, began with Flintoff organising tryouts in his home city, where the poverty rate is above the national average and more than 21 per cent of children are in low-income families. While the ex-England player was too modest to say it on camera, he had clearly quietly – and understandably – assumed his celebrity status would result in a decent turnout. He was left dismayed then, when his desperate appeals resulted in just a handful of nonchalant teenagers turning up at trials.

Nevertheless, with the help of his former Lancashire teammate Kyle Hogg, Flintoff scraped (and I mean scraped) a team together. Hope thankfully arrived midway through series one in the form of Adnan, a softly spoken Afghan refugee with dreams of playing professionally (he has since made his debut for Lancashire’s second team).

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As is often the case with the best shows inspired by sport, Field of Dreams wasn’t really about what was happening on the pitch. Instead, it was a tale of fighting against the odds, and the power of friendship and camaraderie, with more than a few hilarious one-liners, courtesy of the rambunctious teenage players.

The second series took a turn nobody saw coming. Early episodes saw Flintoff and Hogg lay out their ambitious plan to take the team on a life-changing trip to India. But it was Flintoff’s life that was suddenly altered immeasurably when a horrific accident while filming Top Gear left the presenter with severe injuries and in need of extensive facial surgery.

Assistant coach Hogg broke the news to the boys, and filming was put on pause. While enduring a recovery that involved multiple operations, and led to bouts of severe anxiety and flashbacks, Flintoff essentially went into hiding and later admitted he didn’t leave the house for eight months.

After an extended break, the show went on. Cameras were rolling as Flintoff, visibly changed and still shaken, reunited with the team. With their once seemingly fearless leader on the ropes, the teenagers stepped up. Field of Dreams morphed into something new and even more special, as the boys – with pot noodles and Pringles in their suitcases – supported Flintoff through his nervous return to the spotlight. Standout moments saw Flintoff and several of the teens join Adnan in fasting during Ramadan, before youngster Ben, who was homeless and unemployed, began considering a career in education after a visit to a Kolkata orphanage.

The ever-ambitious Flintoff took things up a notch in the third series and started three more teams, two for boys in Bootle and Manchester, and his first girls’ side in Blackpool. To put it bluntly, the Bootle lads made the Preston OGs look positively angelic. The embattled Kyle Hogg bore the brunt of their behaviour, along with a new recruit, ex-England bowler Kate Cross, who surely had no idea what she was getting herself into.

The star of the show this time around was Presley, a Manchester newbie with a heart of gold, who had suffered at the hands of bullies and struggled to make friends at school. He finally seemed to find his place in the world thanks to the ragtag team, which left his mum in floods of relieved, happy tears.

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Why then, has the BBC called time on one of its most heartwarming offerings? With the news agenda dominated by ICE raids, the Epstein files and Iran-US tensions, we’re more in need than ever of a reminder that people can be kind. The season three finale delivered a fairytale ending of sorts, as Flintoff’s four teams faced each other in a tournament. Whether each side would survive beyond filming still felt uncertain, which surely left plenty of room for a fourth outing.

Perhaps Flintoff himself is behind the decision, or maybe execs at the BBC thought the story had run its course. Whatever happened behind the scenes, hopefully Field of Dreams gives commissioners food for thought. Leave over-produced efforts and fame-hungry casts behind; life-affirming shows like this are what we’re crying out for. And more Presleys. TV could definitely do with those, especially in these troubling times.