# Top Gear's Stig outed! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396 "2010-09-02T16:16:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/21 "2010-09-03T01:18:07Z")
Tame, broken-in, domesticated, take your pick. It implies that normal race drivers are a bit like wild animals that need to be trained before you can let them near people (hence the numerous scenes where the Stig is shown being confused by everyday objects, like turnstiles at train stations). ---
**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/22 "2010-09-03T01:22:00Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > That’s what happened to the original (black) Stig. Here’s the link: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_eiJkQzpzRc/maxresdefault.jpg "End of the Stig? | Top Gear series 3 | BBC Studios") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eiJkQzpzRc) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/23 "2010-09-03T04:32:28Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > The main reason the Stig was popular was the mystic around him. Nobody really wanted to know who he was, far better to laugh at the jokes and imagine that he was mentos level cool. > > But now Ben Collins wants to spoil this harmless bit of fun for millions of viewers so he can cash in with a book at christmas. > > Logic says: What an asshole. I hope they get rid of him, whether by changing the “Stig” in some way, or by just getting a new Stig, winking at the audience and pretending nothing ever happened. Ben Collins can go drive ice cream vans. Hasn’t TG Australia got its own Stig? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/24 "2010-09-03T08:45:50Z")
Now they have to kill him. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/25 "2010-09-03T09:34:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Hasn’t TG Australia got its own Stig? They just introduced him as “The Stig” in the Australian shows. One of the hosts tried for “Stiggy” or “Stiggo” or something, but it didn’t take. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/26 "2010-09-10T16:49:37Z")
I’ve been surprised by how big a deal the presenters have made over this, not to mention the BBC wasting tax payer’s money over trying to silence him. They pay the stigs pretty badly (rightly, in my POV), and it’s a burden to keep the secret. Makes sense that they should be revealed and changed every now and then. It should have played out like last time: kill off old stig, get new stig with a new coloured suit. He posts an amazing time on his first day showing he’s even better than the last stig. _This time_ the stig really is an alien, mutant, robot F1 champ. * * * In fact, if you want crazy speculation about who the stig is, pick a female driver this time. This has the advantage that the tabloids can do gratuitous two page spreads of hawt women who “just might be” the stig. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/27 "2010-09-10T16:52:18Z")
They could even have a contest to choose the next Stig. 12 anonymous drivers, each in a different coloured racing suit and helmet. It would be brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/28 "2010-09-10T18:05:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > They could even have a contest to choose the next Stig. 12 anonymous drivers, each in a different coloured racing suit and helmet. It would be brilliant. I wonder if they could make use of [this lot](http://www.banpei.net/files/images/wtf-birtish-cash-for-clunkers-pic1.jpg) for that challenge. \“Tonight! James wears a hat! Richard races a poodle! And we choose a new Stig”\ ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/29 "2010-09-10T18:09:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Now they have to kill him. I’m really looking forward to that, this show is always so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/30 "2010-09-10T18:20:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Hasn’t TG Australia got its own Stig? And let’s not forget [Fat American Stig](http://www.livevideo.com/video/69946434FDC24C2D8CC9111398209ED2/top-gear-fat-stig.aspx). Or maybe we should ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/31 "2010-09-10T19:53:25Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > > [@GildedLily](#): > > > > Ahhh, ok, that makes sense! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every episode of the “new” Top Gear, even the ones before James May (that fat guy was not good) and always wondered why Brits pronounced team as tame. That’s, what like 14 seasons of being wooshed? > > It never occurred to you that they were pronouncing “tame” as “tame”? > > Yikes, it’s possible that you are hearing an entirely different show to the rest of us! Let’s hope it was just that one word! 😃 Well yes, now that it’s been pointed out it’s blatantly obvious and I do feel like a bit of a boob. That said, here’s my feeble defense: 1. I don’t follow racing in any way, so it wouldn’t be totally obvious to me that racing drivers would need to be tamed. Though it does make sense upon closer inspection. 2. They say things like PrIus, Ga-rage, Niss-un, and Zed, which my midwestern American ears aren’t used to hearing (but easily make sense of). 3. It doesn’t seem too odd to think he’d be considered the “Team Top Gear” racing driver. Ok, I’ll crawl back into my pit of shame and look forward to another season…sorry…series of Top Gear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/32 "2010-09-10T19:56:47Z")
Incidentally, you probably haven’t seen every episode of the “new” Top Gear, since about a whole year’s worth have never been broadcast here. They’re on YouTube, though. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/33 "2010-09-11T00:21:23Z")
So Ben Collins is now being paid by \*The Sun \*to write about being The Stig, etc. What a cock. I hope nobody ever trusts him to do anything ever again. I don’t know what the legal situation or his contract is, but if the BBC can sue him for damages, I hope they do. I heard his smarmy voice on the radio today – “Today I reveal in \*The Sun \*what I thought of \*Top Gear \*stars!”. Slimy, horrible little man. Gimme a few grand, and all my honour goes out the window. I’m pleased to report that his voice does not match his image as The Stig. I wonder if they’ll drop The Stig now, or get a new one? After two in a row have outed themselves for a paycheck, I guess it’s not viable. People can’t be trusted to do what they say they’ll do. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/34 "2010-09-11T00:58:11Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > So Ben Collins is now being paid by \*The Sun \*to write about being The Stig, etc. > > What a cock. I hope nobody ever trusts him to do anything ever again. I don’t know what the legal situation or his contract is, but if the BBC can sue him for damages, I hope they do. > > I heard his smarmy voice on the radio today – “Today I reveal in \*The Sun \*what I thought of \*Top Gear \*stars!”. Slimy, horrible little man. Gimme a few grand, and all my honour goes out the window. > > I’m pleased to report that his voice does not match his image as The Stig. > > I wonder if they’ll drop The Stig now, or get a new one? After two in a row have outed themselves for a paycheck, I guess it’s not viable. People can’t be trusted to do what they say they’ll do. I don’t get this attitude at all. Collins worked what, seven series? Maintaining the secret this long has been quite a burden from the sound of things, and it’s not a particularly high paying job\*. Of course, due to circumstances outside of his control, it’s been obvious that ben collins was the stig for a while (e.g. he had to testify in the inquest over hammond’s crash). It’s like a guy who’s been sweating his arse off in a mickey mouse costume for years. Let him out the costume, let him tell us what it was like (which is where he’ll make most of his cash) and just get another guy suited up. Then say the new guy _really is_ mickey mouse. What exactly is the problem? * * * - Again, I think it’s _right_ it doesn’t pay well. The stig doesn’t need to be articulate or funny. He just needs to drive fast. And not necessarily faster than anyone (white stig was slower than some F1 drivers). He just needs to be consistently faster than the top gear boys. So…Stig is easily replaceable. But it’s foolish to think you can maintain any stig’s identity to the end of time. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/35 "2010-09-11T07:58:23Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Maintaining the secret this long has been quite a burden from the sound of things, and it’s not a particularly high paying job\*. It’s the job he agreed to do for the price he agreed to do it. And it’s hardly a full-time job. A few days filming a year or so. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/36 "2010-09-11T10:10:19Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I don’t get this attitude at all. Everybody knew the Stig was just some guy, but it was fun to pretend. First guy got sacked, no problem, just show the stig going off an aircraft carrier, ignore his name and carry on pretending. The pretense survives. Ben Collins gets sacked. Replace him with blue Stig. Ben Collins releases a book, and writes a weekly column detailing his time as stig, and commenting regularly on the new stig, comparing and contrasting. The pretense is destroyed. Any use of the phrase “Some say…” is now just stupid. “Some say he only eats parking meters? Well, lets just ask him in his weekly Q+A session”. The magic is gone, and why? So some fucking nobody can grab a buck. You make it sound like hes just claiming his dues. Dare I say, quite an American attitude. I predict Top Gear will not replace the Stig. It will be an identified person, to be another part of the team with Jeremy, Richard and James. Quite apart from losing the bit of fun with the stig, it could change the group dynamic. Remember the London challenge? Instead of the stig riding the tube, we have “generic young person for the teenage demographic” riding the tube. Whoop de fucking do. Thanks Ben. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/37 "2010-09-11T10:37:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > They could even have a contest to choose the next Stig. 12 anonymous drivers, each in a different coloured racing suit and helmet. It would be brilliant. _Survivor: Stig_ _Britain’s Next Top Stig_ _Stig Brother_ _Stig vs. Wild_ _Pimp My Stig_ _Stig’s Kitchen_ _So You Think You Can Stig_ ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/38 "2010-09-11T12:58:42Z")
Maybe it’s just because I feel the concept was getting tired anyway. The stig coming out and revealing his experiences, and then being replaced by a stig that is more “extreme” in some sense, or a woman etc, is exactly what the character needs. In fact, generally, top gear needs a bit of refreshing. It’s still one of the best series on TV, but new Top Gear hasn’t changed a great deal over the years, and it’s starting to show. The hijinks and many of the jokes are starting to get predictable. The BBC should have declined to comment on collins, and taken the opportunity to inject some new ideas. > [@bucketybuck](#): > > The pretense is destroyed. Any use of the phrase “Some say…” is now just stupid. “Some say he only eats parking meters? Well, lets just ask him in his weekly Q+A session”. Well, was it a problem when black stig was revealed as perry mccarthy? No: the _last_ stig was human, now we’ve got the real deal. They _could_ have done this this time, but unfortunately interviews where they’ve described the stig as ruined now make it difficult to continue the game now. > [@](#): > > The magic is gone, and why? So some fucking nobody can grab a buck. You make it sound like hes just claiming his dues. > [@Candyman74](#): > > It’s the job he agreed to do for the price he agreed to do it. Asking him to keep this a secret forever is as fruitless as trying to get politicians to never release memoirs. They should have realised that and just got a 5 or 10 year contract. > [@](#): > > Dare I say, quite an American attitude. I’m british. And collins getting the kind of compensation that the job didn’t and shouldn’t provide is only a small part of this. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/39 "2010-09-11T13:06:33Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Well, was it a problem when black stig was revealed as perry mccarthy? Did Perry McCarthy (whose name I just heard off) release a tell-all book and agree a column for a national newspaper? I do actually agree that Top Gear has gotten tired, but more that it needs to be less obviously scripted, than it needs its core characters revamped. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396/40 "2010-09-11T13:30:17Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Asking him to keep this a secret forever is as fruitless as trying to get politicians to never release memoirs. > They should have realised that and just got a 5 or 10 year contract. I think it would be reasonable to leave and wait a few years before saying “I was the Stig”. Not release an autobiography while still in the job, and get told by the BBC that the confidentiality agreement - \*that he agreed to \*- forbade it, and continue anyway. Just shows he’s untrustworthy. Doesn’t stand by his word. Of course, we don’t know the details of the confidentiality agreement; I wouldn’t be surprised if it was “for 3 years after leaving” or something. But whatever it was, the honourable thing to do is to leave and wait some time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-stig-outed/552396.md?page=3)