According to the Associated Press, the BBC network has requested Britain’s High Court to block the autobiography of Top Gear’s most mysterious driver, The Stig. The publisher, HarperCollins, said in a statement that “Ben Collins has a great story to tell about his seven years as The Stig.”
Producers from Top Gear are disappointed with the news because they have always felt that the entire purpose of The Stig is the mystery of his identity. Over the last several years the identity of The Stig has fueled endless debates and almost every top F1 driver has been suspected of being The Stig at one point or another.
Ben Collins has had a fantastic career in motorsports since he started competing back in 1994. In addition to his racing, Collins also has a separate company, Collins Autosport, that provides stunt driving services. It is no surprise that Collins Autosport provides services to the BBC network for Top Gear. His company has also branched into the film industry, and Collins drove James Bond’s car in Quantum of Solace. It is the connection from Collins Autosport to Top Gear that led several newspapers to make the connection that Ben Collins is The Stig.
For those that have ever seen a Top Gear episode, you know that The Stig is usually introduced in a humorous way that always begins with the phrase ‘Some say.’ Below is a list of the introductions that have been used in the past. Which one is your favorite?
Some say he never blinks, and that he roams around the woods at night foraging for wolves.
Some say he's wanted by the CIA, and that he sleeps upside down like a bat.
Some say that he appears on high-value stamps in Sweden, and that he can catch fish with his tongue.
Some say that his breath smells of magnesium, and that he's scared of bells.
Some say he naturally faces magnetic north, and that all of his legs are hydraulic.
Some say that he lives in a tree, and that his sweat can be used to clean precious metals.
Some say that his heart ticks like a watch, and that he's confused by stairs.
Some say that his voice can only be heard by cats, and that he has two sets of knees.
Some say that he's terrified of ducks, and that there's an airport in Russia named after him.
Some say his skin has the texture of a dolphin's, and that wherever you are in the world, if you tune your radio to 88.4, you can actually hear his thoughts.
Some say that he has no understanding of clouds, and that his earwax tastes like Turkish delight.
Some say that his politics are terrifying, and that he once punched a horse to the ground.
Some say that his tears are adhesive, and that if he caught fire, he'd burn for a thousand days.
Some say he can swim seven lengths under water, and he has webbed buttocks.
Some say that his heart is in upside down, and that his teeth glow in the dark.
Some say that his ears aren't exactly where you'd expect them to be, and that once, preposterously, he had an affair with John Prescott.
Some say he has a digital face, and that if he felt like it, he could fire Alan Sugar.
Some say that his genitals are on upside down, and that if he could be bothered, he could crack the Da Vinci Code in 43 seconds.
Some say his ears have a paisley lining, and he's been banned from the Chelsea Flower Show.
Some say that the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring, and that if you give him a really important job to do, he'll skive off and play croquet.
Some say he invented Branston Pickle, and that if you insult his mother, he will head-butt you in the chest.
Some say that on really warm days, he sheds his skin like a snake, and that for some reason, he's allergic to the Dutch.
Some say that his first name really is "The," and that if he went on Celebrity Love Island, they'd all be pregnant including the cameramen.
Some say he once threw a microwave oven at a tramp, and long before anyone else, he realized that Jade Goody was a racist pig-faced waste of blood and organs.
Some say that he once had a vicious knife fight with Anthea Turner, and that he is in no way implicated in the cash for honors scandal.
Some say that he's a CIA experiment that went wrong, and that he only eats cheese.
Some say that if you lick his chest, it tastes exactly the same as piccalilli, and that at this week's Brit awards, he was arrested for goosing Russell Brand.
Some say that he sucks the moisture from ducks, and that his crash helmet is modeled on Britney Spears' head.
Some say he isn't machine washable, and all his potted plants are called Steve.
Some say that his scrotum has its own small gravity field, and that because our producer rigged a phone vote, he now has a new name. All we know is, he's called Cuddles.
Some say that he's banned from the town of Chichester, and that in a recent late-night deal, he bought a slightly dented white Fiat Uno from the Duke of Edinburgh.
Some say that he gets terrible eczema on his helmet, and that if he'd been the video referee at the World Cup Rugby Final, he'd have seen 'of course it was a try you blind Australian half-wit'!
Some say he's seen The Lion King 1,780 times, and that his second best friend is a cape buffalo.
Some say that to unlock him, you have to run your finger down his face, like this (runs his finger down the face of an audience member standing nearby), and that if he was getting divorced from Paul McCartney, he'd keep his stupid whining mouth shut!
Some say that he thought Star Wars was a documentary, and that he recently pulled out of I'm A Celebrity because he is scared of trees ... and Australia ... and Koo Stark ... and Ant ... and Dec.
Some say that he knows two facts about ducks, and both of them are wrong. And that 61 years ago he accidentally introduced Her Majesty The Queen to a Greek racialist.
Some say that when he slows down brake lights come on in his buttocks, and that if he'd been the manager of the England football squad last week, he wouldn't have been a feckless ginger gum-chewing buffoon who ruined it for all of us.
Some say that he once lost a canoe on a beach in the north-east, and that he once did some time in a prison in Canterbury, because his teddy is called The Baby Jesus.
Some say that as we speak he is actually relaxing in the resort pool, and he is, he is actually.
Some say that after making love, he bites the head off his partner. And that he's had to give up binge drinking now that it's gone to one pound eighteen to a liter.
Some say that each of his toenails are exactly the same as a woman's nipples, and that he thinks that "credit-crunch" is some kind of a breakfast cereal.
Some say his droppings have been found as far north as York. And that he has a full-size tattoo of his face, on his face.
Some say that he is not allowed, by law, within 100 yards of Lorraine Kelly, and that he's never seen an episode of Top Gear, because he's a huge fan of Midsomer Murders!
Some say it's impossible for him to wear socks, and he can open a beer bottle with his testes!
Some say that he sleeps inside out, and that he once had phone sex with Russell Brand's answering machine.
Some say his favorite ever song is Forever Autumn by Justin Hayward, and that he has the world's largest collection of pornographical material.
Some say that he invented November. And that if he had won the World Championship in Brazil last weekend, there might have been one photograph of him without his father, gurning in the back of shot.
Some say that one of his eyes is a teste. And that he was turned down for I'm a Celebrity because people have heard of him.
Some say one of his legs gets longer when he sees a pretty lady. And that I haven't done one of these for some time and I've forgotten to make up a second thing.
Some say that he doesn't like to get his helmet wet. A point that was proved last week when he was caught in the back of shot by an eagle-eyed viewer.
Some say he invented the curtain, and that he recently submitted a £20,000 expenses claim for some gravel ... for his moat.
Some say he has twelve GCSE's, all in Domestic Science. And that he has been producing artificial sperm for years. Even though we have repeatedly asked him not to.
Some say that on Thursdays he becomes incredibly bulbous. And that recently pigs in Mexico started to die of something called "Stigflu."
Some say that in the autumn, all his arms go brown and fall off. And that if he wrote you a letter of condolence, he would at least get your name right.
Some say that he has some terrible plans involving the moon. And that he was turned down for a place on I'm a Celebrity because he is one.
Some say his new Christmas range of fragrances includes the great smell of Wednesday. And that he was turned down for the job of EU president because his face is just too recognizable.
Some say that the drinks cabinet in his car contains fourteen different types of custard. And that while he has been known to leave his house in a bit of a hurry, he's never once hit a fire hydrant.
Some say that his discharge is luminous, and that even as we speak, he is appearing on the main stage at Glastonbury performing his most famous hit, Superstition.
Some say there are 17 different reasons why he's banned from the North Hampton branch of Little Chef, and that his favorite airline pilot is Mark Webber.
Some say the Scottish released him a little bit too soon. And that he spent all week pushing an effigy of Rubens Barrichello through his desk fan.
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Comments
Okay, so I'd never hear of The Stig, Ben Collins or Top Gear. Just off my pop-culture radar, I guess. However, THESE made me laugh out loud:
– Some say that he's terrified of ducks, and that there's an airport in Russia named after him.
– Some say he naturally faces magnetic north, and that all of his legs are hydraulic.
– Some say he invented the curtain, and that he recently submitted a £20,000 expenses claim for some gravel...for his moat.
What's the deal with ducks, anyway?
That's quite a list. I've never heard of this dude? :)
Ha! Those are some great "Some say" liners :)
Awesome
My earwax doesn't taste like Turkish Delight.
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