Ben Collins dumped by BBC after being :punmasked as Top GearÂ’s The Stig

[GuardianAsher]

Ben Collins has been dumped by the BBC after being unmasked as Top Gear’s The Stig – and he has already been replaced.

The Mirror has exclusive pictures showing 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.

Quote from the article:

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.

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.

Those BBC guys need a sense of humor, everyone from China to the United States knew who the Stig is (was). Lighten up.


(Link to article - http://www.pedaltothemetal.com/index.ph ... _stig.html)

(Link to original article - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-storie ... -22521367/)