who is the stig! revealed
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:00 pm
by Heather Jenkins
Top Gear’s Stig is unmasked
dont read if you dont want to know, thats if this is true!
dont read if you dont want to know, thats if this is true!
Spoiler:
The Stig has officially been unmasked after the High Court refused to grant a temporary injunction preventing the revelation of Top Gear's racing driver.
Ben Collins has been named as the man behind the mask after the BBC took legal action to block publication of an autobiography by HarperCollins which would have revealed his identity.
James May told the BBC upon hearing the news: "Obviously I'm now going to have to take some legal action of my own, because I have been the Stig for the past seven years, and I don't know who this bloke is, who's mincing around in the High Court pretending it's him."
We revealed the man behind the Stig back in January 2009. This is what we said at the time: the identity of Top Gear's mysterious Stig has been one of the best kept secrets in television.
But after years of intense public curiosity it has been revealed that he is a 33-year-old racing driver from Bristol.
Ben Collins is the mystery man behind the white mask, a former American NASCAR, Formula 3 driver and Daniel Craig stunt double.
Famed for his on-the-limit driving style, the Stig's identity is normally protected because he never removes his trademark white helmet or racing suit and never talks on camera.
However, the secret apparently came out when a Bristol newspaper ran a story claiming that Collins was at a Bristol photo studio where limited-edition prints of the Stig were being produced.The media has long known who the Stig is but has refrained from revealing his true identity.
A Top Gear spokesman said: "We never comment on speculation as to who or what the Stig is."
Rumour has it that if the Stig's identity was ever revealed the driver could be sacked from Top Gear.
The original Stig, Perry McCarthy, was launched off an aircraft carrier and 'killed' after his identity was revealed. In 2007, Ben Collins wrote a series of stunt-driving articles for MSN Cars.
Ben Collins has been named as the man behind the mask after the BBC took legal action to block publication of an autobiography by HarperCollins which would have revealed his identity.
James May told the BBC upon hearing the news: "Obviously I'm now going to have to take some legal action of my own, because I have been the Stig for the past seven years, and I don't know who this bloke is, who's mincing around in the High Court pretending it's him."
We revealed the man behind the Stig back in January 2009. This is what we said at the time: the identity of Top Gear's mysterious Stig has been one of the best kept secrets in television.
But after years of intense public curiosity it has been revealed that he is a 33-year-old racing driver from Bristol.
Ben Collins is the mystery man behind the white mask, a former American NASCAR, Formula 3 driver and Daniel Craig stunt double.
Famed for his on-the-limit driving style, the Stig's identity is normally protected because he never removes his trademark white helmet or racing suit and never talks on camera.
However, the secret apparently came out when a Bristol newspaper ran a story claiming that Collins was at a Bristol photo studio where limited-edition prints of the Stig were being produced.The media has long known who the Stig is but has refrained from revealing his true identity.
A Top Gear spokesman said: "We never comment on speculation as to who or what the Stig is."
Rumour has it that if the Stig's identity was ever revealed the driver could be sacked from Top Gear.
The original Stig, Perry McCarthy, was launched off an aircraft carrier and 'killed' after his identity was revealed. In 2007, Ben Collins wrote a series of stunt-driving articles for MSN Cars.
