The Stig; Finally Unmasked To The World?
Top Gear’s Stig, may have finally be unmasked this week after one British newspaper, “The Daily Telegraph”, ran a story, exposing the Stig to possibly be ‘Ben Collins’, a sports car driver from Bristol.
To try dismiss him as just a rumour is trickier, when a BBC insider has gone on to say that the revelation was "bloody annoying".
There has always been speculation about the driver, but there were many more names on a list of possibilities and his visits to the lot could be explained by his features on the shows challenges and races, for example, five a side car football and racing a mountain board. He was also on location in York, briefing Richard Hammond before his 2006 Jet Car crash and a health and safety report, described his to have “worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant."”.
Collins, born on the 13th February 1975, hailing from Bristol, started his motor-sport career in 1994, continuing through many aspects including Formula 3, SCSA and ASCAR Stock Racing.
This week though, he seems to finally have been rumbled. The Telegraph’s sources include two Bristol newspapers, who published articles this week, due to information leaked from a local art gallery. Collins had reportedly commissioned a limited edition run of 450 poster prints, sold at £318 each, posing as a BBC Marketing Executive. Eventually though, he signed a confidential agreement with the business owners, confirming a much closer relationship with the character.
Even though according to sources, the racing community and newspapers have known for some good time; but in the spirit of the show, chose to keep a vow of secrecy against revealing his true identity. Some have apparently quoted it to be like telling children Santa wasn’t real. But obviously, for the telegraph, this wasn’t the case.
Although neither Bristol newspaper had revealed the name, nor had the business, the Telegraph have made the discovery, based on unreleased information.
The original Stig was revealed in 2002 to be Perry McCarthy, after his autobiography revealed a little more than the BBC would have hoped. Almost immediately, the character was killed off, driving a modified Jaguar XJ-S off the flight deck of HMS Invincible.
But what does this mean for The current Stig? All I know is that things don’t look good right about now. James May has reported that there is a clause within The Stig’s contract that says, should he be revealed, then immediate dismissal shall follow.
The question though, that everyone wants to know the answer to; will the 13th series be the birth of a new Stig?
