- Ben Collins, otherwise known as The Stig, wants to come out from behind the racing helmet and be a TV show presenter.
- Collins appeared as The Stig on the popular British TV program Top Gear for seven years.
- Collins is a stunt driver who has also done work for James Bond films.
LONDON — Top Gear fans may be getting an alternative viewing option in the near future. Ben Collins, the man who appeared as The Stig on the popular British TV program for seven years — completely anonymously in racing suit and opaque helmet — says he's eager to have his own show in which he would be the host.
Collins outed himself in an autobiography to be released this month, after winning a court case brought by the BBC to prevent its release. The Man in the White Suit: The Stig, Le Mans, The Fast Lane And Me is now on the verge of publication from publisher Harper Collins.
The rumors about who The Stig really was had swirled for years and Top Gear has made interest in his identity a running theme, speculating and putting out tongue-in-cheek items such as one called " The Myth of The Stig." An earlier Stig likewise revealed himself as his turn in the role came to an end. Racing driver Perry McCarthy, The Black Stig, was killed off in dramatic fashion on the program in 2003.
Collins, interviewed by the London Telegraph newspaper, says he has "some exciting projects coming up" and would like to do ideas that Top Gear's producers "thought were too crazy and hopefully now I can get away with." Collins is a stunt driver who has also done work for James Bond films, the paper notes. He says he's in talks about a show of his own.
Inside Line says: Is Collins racing toward the end of his brief notoriety, now that the famous helmet is off? Time will tell. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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agnh says:
03:34 PM, 09/28/2010
kosmo69-
To answer your question, those of us that went out of our way to ready this article care.
As for Ben Collins, "The Stig" is it's own character, it's own entity. No one really wants Superman, Batman, Spiderman, et al, unmasked, no matter how much we say we do. Where's the fun in that?
jhatmaker24 says:
07:56 AM, 09/28/2010
I think this is going to backfire. Unless Collins' new show is made in Estanbul, I have a feeling no one is going to watch it (especially how loyal Top Gear fans are). No one in the UK is going to watch it...
dagmar3 says:
05:57 AM, 09/28/2010
The Stig was just a supporting character - like George Castanza or Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld. How did those two do when they got their own TV shows?
eki79 says:
10:38 PM, 09/27/2010
@ lotusshell
You're absolutely right on there...
Can't wait to see how The White Stig dies. :)
lotusshell says:
08:47 PM, 09/27/2010
Ben collins should not be proud of himself.
It's like telling a 1st grade class santa clause isn't real, you may be right, but everyone still thinks your a jackass.
isend2c says:
07:24 PM, 09/27/2010
@blueguydotcom
You're spot on, I don't give a hoot who the stig is, he's lost on me now that he's not a mystical creature.
compressor says:
03:48 PM, 09/27/2010
I hope the next stig is purple
blueguydotcom says:
03:06 PM, 09/27/2010
This clown will milk it. Too bad he doesn't get the Stig, like Jason, is just a faceless character. The actor in the role is irrelevant.