MILLIONS of viewers watched Top Gear star Freddie Flintoff unwittingly drive an 'illegal' car, The Sun can reveal.
The ex-England cricketer was seen at the wheel of a Ford Cortina 1.6GL in an episode of the BBC show screened on March 14.
But checks showed the car he was driving had its colour wrongly-registered with the DVLA, making it unlawful to use on the roads.
The Cortina – rented by producers for Flintoff to drive – was red with a black roof while still being registered with the DVLA as white.
It is a legal requirement that DVLA be informed by the registered owner of a vehicle's change in colour – and can see cops take action against drivers who fail to notify.
A Top Gear spokesman said: “The Cortina used for three days of controlled filming last October fully met the obligations required by law for use on Public Highways and has been warehoused ever since.
"However, notifying the DVLA of a respray to the vehicle via our third party leasing company should have happened quicker and we are grateful to the conscientious viewer for pointing this out to us.”
In the programme Flintoff relives his childhood, describing how his father owned a Cortina in which he drove him to play cricket.
DVLA confirmed it is a legal requirement to inform them if a vehicle's colour is changed and said failure to do so would be a police matter.
A spokesman said: "The police would be responsible for enforcing the offence of failing to notify a change of colour for the vehicle."
Top Gear is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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