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Top Gear favourite Tiff Needell is back on the show – as a shock replacement for The Stig.

The racing driver returns after a nine-year absence to put Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle through his paces on the track.

In Tuesday’s show, Tiff, who has been presenting Five’s Fifth Gear, showed the movie maker how to drive in the popular Star in a Reasonably Priced Car spot.

Danny said: “The Stig has gone of course so they have this other guy Tiff Needell who used to front the original Top Gear. He was a terrific teacher, no nonsense. It was good.”

Former Formula 1 driver Tiff, 59, co-presented the BBC show from 1987 until it was cancelled in 2001.

The following year it was brought back with current presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

But a Top Gear spokesman said Tiff may not be the long-term replacement for The Stig.

“We needed someone to teach Danny Boyle how to drive the track, which would normally be Stig,” he said. “Tiff, being an old friend of the show, offered to help out.

Earlier this year, the BBC lost a court battle to stop former Stig Ben Collins revealing his identity.

The corporation failed to win an injunction stopping publication of Ben’s autobiography, leaving Clarkson furious about his betrayal.

Now Ben has joined Tiff’s old show Fifth Gear.

And last week, the BBC dropped its challenge for costs in the High Court case and both sides agreed to pay their own legal fees.

Ben, 35, said before the settlement he was upset with the BBC continuing the case.

He said: “I’ve had to work out how many people knew I was the Stig recently because the BBC lost the first court action.

“They are now suing me for damages and as part of that, I actually had to calculate how many people, just in the BBC, knew who I was, and that was over 150.

* Top Gear is on Tuesday, BBC2, at 8pm.