The Stig, outed as racing driver Ben Collins, faces axe from Top Gear over autobiography



The Stig is facing the sack from Top Gear in the increasingly bitter row over his plans to publish his autobiography.

BBC insiders say it will be ‘incredibly difficult’ for him to carry on in his current role.

The masked stunt driver planned to reveal his identity in the book, to be published next month.

But he was named at the weekend as 35-year-old racing driver Ben Collins following examination of his company’s accounts.

To read or not to read: The Stig's autobiography should be full of celebrity gossip if we ever get to read it. The BBC is currently trying to sue the publisher, HarperCollins, in attempt to stop its release

Despite this the BBC claims that by publishing the book he will be breaking a confidentiality agreement and is suing its publisher, HarperCollins.

Yesterday, as the case reached the High Court, HarperCollins attacked the corporation for using its public funding to ‘suppress’ the book.

It said it would ‘vigorously defend’ the driver’s ‘perfectly legitimate right’ to tell his story, due to be published on September 16.

The secret's out: The Stig's own company records revealed his identity as racing driver Ben Collins



The BBC said the majority of viewers wanted The Stig’s identity to remain a secret and also said it wanted to stop an ‘external party’ profiting from the ‘unauthorised use of the Top Gear brand’.

After the case was adjourned until next week, a source said: ‘They will definitely get rid of him. I think he was stupid to take on the might of the BBC.’

The driver’s identity was uncovered after a report from Collins’s firm described 2003 – when the present Stig made his debut – as ‘a cornerstone year’.

