Top Gear's The Stig Is Finally Unmasked
The BBC has been refused a court injunction preventing the revealing of The Stig's identity.
The failed court injunction has revealed one of the BBC's best kept secrets.
He may have a fear of ducks but hit motor show Top Gear's mysterious circuit driver The Stig proved to be not so tame after beating a High Court ban by BBC bosses to muzzle him.
An autobiography by HarperCollins reveals the Stig to be racing driver and stuntman, Ben Collins.
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The Stig's true identity was a closely guarded secret
On his website Collins, 35,is revealed to be one of the stunt drivers who drove the Aston Martins in the latest 007 film, Quantam of Solace.
In a small paragraph it says: "Collins is also a leading stunt driver for film and television".
In response to the ruling a BBC spokesperson said: "The BBC brought this action as we believe it is vital to protect the character of the Stig which ultimately belongs to the licence fee payer.
"Today's judgement does not prevent the BBC from pursuing this matter to trial and the BBC will not be deterred from protecting such information from attack no matter when or by whom it should arise."
During the legal battle the show's boss Andy Wilman wrote a passionate blog in defence of keeping the Stig's identity secret.
In it he said: "The whole point of the Stig is the mystique – the bizarre characteristics he has, the wonderment created about what he might think, feel, do or look like. Kids adore the conceit, and I believe adults, although they know it’s a man in a suit (or is it?), gladly buy into the whole conceit because they find it entertaining."
The Top Gear test driver's job on the BBC series was to drive featured sports cars around the shows test track very fast.
But The Stig became a bit of a legend on the show after presenter Jeremy Clarkson started introducing the anonymous driver each week with a different comic saying.
The Stig's identity was never revealed as he always appeared on the show helmeted, darkened visor down and clad head to toe in his trademark white racing overalls.
Top Gear's Stig Is Free To Publish Autobiography After BBC Lose Bid To Get Injunction | UK News | Sky News
Stig speaks out about secret life
Stig speaks out about secret life
September 13, 2010
Ben Collins, the man behind Top Gear's mask, reveals how he remained anonymous.
Sterilising his clothing. Never parking in the same place twice. Locking away traces of his true identity. Keeping his eye on his car's rear-view mirror in case of a "tail".
These may sound like exploits in the life of a wanted criminal or a secret service agent, but they're actually the lengths that formerly anonymous TV star Ben Collins went to in order to stop people knowing he was The Stig.
Excerpts from the much anticipated autobiography of Top Gear's ex-racer have been published in the UK's Daily Mail, where Collins reveals the extraordinary efforts involved in keeping his life in the white racing suit a secret.
"My golden rule was never to appear in the white suit without my helmet on," Collins writes.
"I sterilised my gear, left every trace of Ben Collins - my phone, my wallet and so on - locked in the car, then hid the keys."
The Daily Mail reports a British newspaper that claimed it had combed through The Stig's dressing room struggled to find any evidence of the secret driver's identity, except for the fact the driver had size 10 feet.
He even went as far as lying to his family and friends.
"I lied to everyone, including my friends and family, about what I was doing," writes Collins, explaining that a lot of the measures he took to remain anonymous were instigated by himself.
"I made my own rules: never park in the same place twice, never talk to anyone outside the 'circle' and keep a balaclava on until I was eight miles clear of location and certain that no-one was following," the book states.
The celebrities that Collins was responsible for training for the show's "Star in a reasonably priced car" segment were not privy to Collins' identity, though according to the Daily Mail, Collins makes mention of a few well known identities.
He reportedly labels celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay "awesome", while Collins says he struggled strapping UK pop-star Katie Price (aka Jordan) into the car's racing seat because of her enlarged chest.
"My first task was Herculean," Collins writes. "[The shoulder straps] ran out of length over the top of her, er, embonpoints, and looked dangerously uncomfortable going round the side."
Collins said he expected "an afternoon of crying over broken fingernails," but was surprised by Price's driving, despite a close call when she took to the track without his accompaniment.
"She's spun at the fastest section and was backing towards the building," Collins writes. "I felt my stomach lurch."
Collins has also lashed out at Jeremy Clarkson following an interview last week which saw the Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson voicing his opinion about Collins, revealing to a British online TV channel that Collins' actions "hurt" him.
Collins was reported yesterday in the Daily Mail as saying that Clarkson told him he drove "like a homosexual", and that he felt the backlash against him following his decision to reveal his identity had been "unfair".
"When we first met, Jeremy told me I 'drove like a homosexual' but he works tirelessly to make the show the success it is and likes everyone to be pulling in the same direction," Collins said.
"Jeremy wouldn't have lasted 60 seconds in my job," Collins is quoted as saying. "He couldn't have kept his identity secret and not talked for seven years."
The war of words has since continued, with Clarkson labelling Collins a "glorified Dalek".
