dwarf Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I actually thought that was one of the best episodes of Top Gear ever. Maybe a couple 'but then!' moments, on the whole though it was very entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirited away Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I actually thought that was one of the best episodes of Top Gear ever. Maybe a couple 'but then!' moments, on the whole though it was very entertaining. Agreed. I thought it was the best bit of tv all year - as the Vietnam episode was last year. The Death Road and sand dune scenes...Jesus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 (edited) CAVE - A while ago, there was much excitement online when Top Gear's tame racing driver, the Stig, was spotted standing in a window at the BBC's White City complex. As it turned out, this was, in fact, a cardboard cut-out. But this time it looks like the Stig has been caught out and about for real, in Scotland. This image of the white-clad racing driver, said by some to sleep upside down like a bat, was taken by Google on the A82(Loch Ness.), which joins Fort William, in the south, with Inverness in the north. Popular with many motorists, this road has been voted one of the country's greatest. It's also the second-longest A road in Scotland after the A9. But what is the Stig doing there? Who knows? It's fair to assume, though, that Top Gear could be planning a tour of the UK's best roads at some point soon. Or perhaps the Stig had just popped out of the car to relieve himself after a long journey. After all, some say he urinates more often than most because he drinks only premium unleaded petrol. Edited January 27, 2010 by Dante Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 The Mirror - The Stig Fired Ben Collins has been dumped by the BBC after being unmasked as Top Gear's The Stig - and he has already been replaced. Our exclusive pictures show the new Stig - the show's "tame racing driver" - in trademark white jumpsuit and crash helmet at a Top Gear Live event at the Nürburgring racing circuit in Germany on Friday. Meanwhile, 1,100 miles away, Collins was snapped pushing his daughters Izzy, three, and Scarlett, 18 months, in toy cars near their home in the West Country. The replacement Stig - whose identity is obviously being kept a closely-guarded secret - has been brought in a week after Formula 3 driver Collins' identity was revealed amid a High Court battle over his autobiography. Bbc bosses claim the book - due out on September 16 - is in breach of a confidentiality agreement which Collins signed, to keep his name a secret. The BBC insists that keeping The Stig's identity a mystery is crucial to his daredevil role as test driver for Top Gear, which is watched by 350million viewers around the world. Publishers HarperCollins hit back, accusing the Beeb of squandering licence-fee payers' money on expensive legal action. But the show's executive producer Andy Wilman accused HarperCollins of chasing profits to expose a "harmless" TV secret. Collins - who has worked as a stunt double for James Bond star Daniel Craig - has played the elusive masked driver since 2003. Clues to his identity were uncovered in accounts for his company, Collins Auto-Sport, in December the same year. In it were details of income derived from "driving services for the BBC, mainly in the Top Gear programme". A message posted on the official Top Gear website boasts that the Nürburgring event features "some of the World's greatest precision drivers, as well as Top Gear's very own tame racing driver - The Stig". Asked about the legal row yesterday, ousted Ben Collins said: "I am not allowed to talk about it." Last week the show's original Stig lifted the lid on his life on the show in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror. Former Formula 1 driver Perry McCarthy, 49, said: "At first it was great fun. "I lost count of the times I would be standing in a bar and some guy would be going, 'Of course it's Michael Schumacher.' I never said anything." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro_Link Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 It's a bit rediculous really! Who cares if people know who The Stig is... it's the character everyone loves... and it doesn't have an effect on anyone watching because outside of racing circles no one's going to recognise Ben Collins anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddage Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Plus it's been pretty common knowledge, that Ben Collins was The Stig, to anyone who really cared anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizmo Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Yeah this has been known for a few years now? Since Hammonds crash at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro_Link Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Yep... completely unnecessary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwarf Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Maybe he was fired for some other reason, and the mirror are bullshitting? Far more likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Maybe he was fired for some other reason, and the mirror are bullshitting? Far more likely. It has been in news for awhile now about BBC legal battle to stopping him from releasing his book because it bleaks his contract about revealing his identity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Wonder if the BBC will have a different colour for the new Stig, instead of white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Peeps Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I think they'll stick with white. They changed from Black Stig to White Stig after Perry McCarthy outed himself but The Stig character is a lot more well-known now and there's a lot of merchandise with the White Stig on. I like not knowing who The Stig really is (even though I don't know who Ben Collins is), it helps allude to the joke of him being an entity instead of an actual human being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 I know the BBC tried to "cover up" the identity of Stig by having Schumacher coming out in Stig gear. Then playing it off in the "Reasonably Priced Car" challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Its wasn't a cover up it was because the car company only lets owners drive that car that Schumacher has. BBC loses battle over Ben Collins book The High Court in London refused to grant the BBC an injunction blocking the publication by HarperCollins of an autobiography of former Formula Three driver Ben Collins. The book claims Mr Collins is the mystery driver on the BBC Two show. The BBC began legal action against HarperCollins last week. It says it won't confirm or deny that Ben Collins either was or remains The Stig. But Top Gear presenter James May, who was a studio guest on BBC London when High Court's decision was announced, made light of the situation. He said: "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." Racing driver Ben Collins was in court for part of the hearing The Stig is famous for his racing overalls and dark-visored helmet. His identity has long been a closely-guarded secret on Top Gear - one of the BBC's most popular shows in the UK and around the world. Several racing drivers have been linked to the role, including former Formula One world champions Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher. Mr Collins, 33, from Redland, Bristol, was in court for part of Wednesday's hearing. The first Stig, Perry McCarthy, was dropped in 2003 after his identity was uncovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbob Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 He'll be officially fired soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipaul Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Sorry to dampen the mood here but do people really still care about Top Gear? It had it's day many years ago now... I would think former Stig might not be too bothered by this whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 Sorry to dampen the mood here but do people really still care about Top Gear? It had it's day many years ago now... I would think former Stig might not be too bothered by this whole thing. I love Top Gear. I look forward to the new series as much as the next person. I even enjoy watching repeats on Dave They still get something like 250million viewers right? So they still have tons of fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganepark32 Posted September 1, 2010 Share Posted September 1, 2010 I love Top Gear. I look forward to the new series as much as the next person. I even enjoy watching repeats on Dave They still get something like 250million viewers right? So they still have tons of fans. 350 millions viewers even, worldwide. How many of those care about whether the Stig is known or not, I don't know but I think the whole running gag if you will of him being unknown is a draw for the show. Even if we know who he is, there is still the joking about what he is like that distances him from his real life character and I think a lot of people buy into that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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