BBC Two
BBC Two logo
Launched	20 April 1964 based in London
Owned by	BBC
Picture format	576i (PAL) 16:9 SDTV
Audience share	6.1% (August 2011, BARB)
Country	United Kingdom
Broadcast area	Nationwide based in London
Headquarters	BBC Television Centre, London
Formerly called	BBC2 (20 April 1964–3 October 1997)
Sister channel(s)	BBC One BBC Three BBC Four BBC News BBC Parliament BBC HD CBBC CBeebies
Website	www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue	Normally tuned to 2 (To be phased out nationwide by 2012)
Freeview	Channel 2
Digitenne (Netherlands)
Satellite
Freesat	Channel 102 Channels 968–971 (regional variations)
Sky (UK)	Channel 102 Channels 989–992 (regional variations)
Sky (Ireland)	Channel 142
Astra 1N	10773H 22000 5/6
Cable
Virgin Media	Channel 102
Smallworld Cable	Channel 102
UPC Ireland	Channel 109
Ziggo (Netherlands)	Channel 602
UPC (Netherlands)	Channel 51
Numericable (Belgium)
Naxoo (Switzerland)	Channel 214
Cablecom (Switzerland)	Channel 156
IPTV
TalkTalk TV	Channel 2
Belgacom TV(Brussels)	Channel 68
Belgacom TV(Flanders)	Channel 24
Belgacom TV(Wallonia)	Channel 214
Bluewin TV(Switzerland)
Internet television
BBC iPlayer	Watch live (UK only)
TVCatchup	Watch live(UK only)

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore commercial-free. It is a comparatively well funded public service network, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most current public service networks worldwide.

Originally styled BBC2, it was the third British television station to be launched (starting on 20 April 1964 based in London), and from 1 July 1967, Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour. It was envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming, and while this tendency has continued to date, most special-interest programmes of a kind previously broadcast on BBC Two, for example the BBC Proms, now tend to appear on BBC Four instead.

History[link]

Launch[link]

British television at the time of BBC2's launch consisted of two channels: the BBC Television Service and the ITV network made up of smaller regional companies. Both channels had existed in a state of competition since ITV's launch in 1955, and both had aimed for a populist approach in response. The 1962 Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting noticed this, and that ITV lacked any serious programming. It therefore decided that Britain's third television station should be awarded to the BBC.^[1]

Prior to its launch, the new BBC2 was promoted on the BBC Television Service: the soon to be renamed BBC1. The animated adverts featured the campaign mascots "Hullabaloo", a mother kangaroo, and "Custard", her joey. Prior to, and several years after, the channel's formal launch, the channel broadcast 'Trade Test Transmissions', short films made externally by companies such as Shell and BP, which served to enable engineers to test reception, but became cult viewing.

The channel was scheduled to begin at 19:20 on 20 April 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show The Alberts, a performance from Soviet comedian Arkady Raikin, and a production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, culminating with a fireworks display. However, at around 18:45 a huge power failure, originating from a fire at Battersea Power Station, caused Television Centre, and indeed much of west London, to lose all power. BBC1 was able to continue broadcasting via its facilities at Alexandra Palace, but all attempts to show the scheduled programmes on the new channel failed. Associated-Rediffusion, the London weekday ITV franchise-holder, offered to transmit on the BBC's behalf, but their gesture was rejected. At 22:00 BBC2 had no choice but to concede defeat and postpone programming until the following morning. As the BBC's news centre at Alexandra Palace was unaffected, they did in fact broadcast brief bulletins on BBC2 that evening, beginning with an announcement by the newsreader Gerald Priestland at around 19:25.^[2] There was believed to be no recording made of this bulletin, but a videotape was discovered in early 2003.^[3]

By 11:00 on 21 April, power had been restored to the studios and programming began, thus making Play School the first programme to be shown officially on the channel. The launch schedule, postponed from the night before, was then successfully shown that evening, albeit with minor changes. In reference to the power cut, the transmission opened with a shot of a lit candle which was then sarcastically blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy.^[3]

To establish the new channel's identity and draw viewers to it, the BBC decided that a widely promoted, lavish series would be essential in its earliest days. The production chosen was The Forsyte Saga (1967), a no-expense-spared adaptation of the novels by John Galsworthy, featuring well-established actors Kenneth More and Eric Porter. Critically for the future of the fledgling channel, the BBC's gamble was hugely successful, with an average of six million viewers tuning in per episode: a feat made more prominent by the fact that only 9 million were able to receive the channel at the time.

Unlike BBC1 and ITV, BBC2 was broadcast only on the 625 line UHF system, so was not available to viewers still using sets on the 405-line VHF system. This created a market for dual standard receivers which could switch between the two systems. The early technical problems, which included being unable to transmit US-recorded videotapes due to a lack of system conversion from the US NTSC system, were resolved by a committee headed by James Redmond.

Technological advancements[link]

The new 625 line system had one noticeable advantage: the bandwidth was sufficient for colour broadcasts and indeed on 1 July 1967, BBC2 became the first channel in Europe to begin regular broadcasts in colour, using the PAL system.^[4] The thirteen part series Civilisation (1969) was created as a celebration of two millennia of western art and culture to showpiece the new colour technology.^[5] BBC1 and ITV later joined BBC2 on 625-line UHF band, but continued to simulcast on 405-line VHF until 1985. BBC1 and ITV simultaneously introduced PAL colour on UHF on 15 November 1969, although they both had broadcast some programmes in colour "unofficially" since at least late 1968.

In 1979, the station adopted the first computer generated channel identification (ident) in Britain, with its use of the double striped, orange '2' logo. The ident, created in house by BBC engineers, lasted a number of years and heralded the start of computer generated logos.

As the switch to digital-only terrestrial transmission progresses, BBC Two is (in each region in turn) the first analogue TV channel to be replaced with the BBC multiplex, at first, four then two weeks ahead of the other four channels. This is required for those relay transmitters that have no current Freeview giving viewers time to purchase the equipment, unless they have already selected a satellite or cable service.

BBC Two was channel of the year in 2007.

Operation[link]

The channel controllers have been:

• 1964–1965: Michael Peacock
• 1965–1969: David Attenborough
• 1969–1974: Robin Scott
• 1974–1978: Aubrey Singer
• 1978–1982: Brian Wenham
• 1982–1987: Graeme MacDonald
• 1987–1992: Alan Yentob
• 1992–1996: Michael Jackson
• 1996–1999: Mark Thompson
• 1999–2004: Jane Root
• 2004–2008: Roly Keating
• 2008–present: Janice Hadlow

The channel forms part of the BBC Vision executive group, and is answerable to the head of that department, and to the BBC Trust.

Programming[link]

BBC Two’s remit is to be a mixed-genre channel appealing to a broad adult audience with programmes of depth and substance. It should carry the greatest amount and range of knowledge-building programming of any BBC television channel, complemented by distinctive comedy, drama and arts programming.

— BBC Two remit^[6]

BBC Two's remit historically was one screening programmes targeting the arts, culture, drama and some comedy, and appealing to audiences not already served by BBC1 or ITV. Over its first thirty or so years the channel developed a reputation for screening highly praised and prestigious drama series, amongst these Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) or 1996's, critically acclaimed Our Friends in the North. The channels "highbrow" profile is also in part attributable to a long history of demanding documentaries of all types, beginning with Civilisation and The Ascent of Man in the 1960s. Like the early Channel 4, BBC2 also established for itself a reputation as a champion of independent and international cinema, under the Screen 2 brand.

The channel has sometimes been judged, increasingly in more recent years, to have moved away from this original role and to have moved closer to the mainstream. Since the launch of the digital-only BBC Four, the BBC has been accused in particular of shifting its more highbrow output to the new channel, which a minority (7.5% in the final quarter of 2010)^[7] of viewers do not receive. BBC Four's remit is very similar to that of the earlier remit of BBC2, and contains a lot of documentaries and arts programming. It has been perceived by some that this strategy is to allow BBC Two to show more popular programmes and to secure higher ratings.^[8] Since 2004 there have been some signs of an attempt to return closer to parts of BBC Two's earlier output with the arts strand The Culture Show. Its most popular programme at the moment is Top Gear.

Currently, a lot of BBC Two's output have previously, or subsequently been shown on other channels. Some of these programmes are repeats of popular or flagship programmes from BBC Four in a late night strand, originally called BBC Four on Two but now unbranded, for the benefit of audiences without access to BBC Four. Other programmes are moved to the channel as a result of their success on BBC Three or Four, so that subsequent series are well received. An example of this is the BBC Three series Torchwood that was transferred to the channel following the success of the first series. BBC Two is also used as a testing ground for programmes prior to their moving to the flagship BBC One: such examples include Have I Got News for You.

Another founding part of BBC Two was to provide educational and community programming on the BBC, as part of its public service remit. The educational section of this commitment saw BBC2 broadcast a large amount of programming for the Open University, who co-produced programming with the corporation, and saw the channel broadcast BBC Schools programmes from 1983 until the programmes were transferred to the BBC Learning Zone in 2010.

As a result of the channel's commitment to community broadcasting, the channel produced the symbolic Open Space series, a strand developed in the early 1970s in which members of the public would be allotted half an hour of television time, and given a level of editorial and technical training in order to produce for themselves a film on an issue most important to them. BBC2's Community Programme Unit kept this aspect of the channel's tradition alive into the 1990s in the form of Video Diaries and later Video Nation. The Community Programmes Unit was disbanded in 2004.

BBC Two show in the morning, kid show from strands CBBC and CBeebies. First, 6am til 7am CBeebies block is shown (everyday), then at 7am til 8.30am CBBC block is shown (weekdays only), then at 8.30am til 11.35am or (11.30am if Daily Politics is shown, mainly Wednesdays) CBeebies block is shown again (only weekdays). On Saturdays, the CBBC block is shown from 7am til 12noon (at 11.40am a repeat of MOTD Kickabout is shown again from the repeat shown on the CBBC Channel at 7.40am that same day). On Sundays, the CBBC block is shown from 7am til 10am (except if special events are shown).

On weekday holidays at 11.30am movies are shown instead of shows for ex. Ready Steady Cook, The Pink Panther Show, Meerkat Manor or BBC World News. Mainly the movies are original or black and white, not modern movies like shown on BBC One or Three.

On friday nights when Sports Relief or Comic Relief is shown, a 40 minute part is shown at 10pm while the BBC News at Ten is on BBC One, and the National Lottery is shown at 11.30pm ish.

Some BBC Two programming is simulcast or repeated in High definition on separate channel BBC HD.

Presentation[link]

As well as programmes, BBC Two has also proved memorable for its numerous idents — various short films shown in between programme junctions that serve as the channel identity. Nearly all of the identity packages used since the channels launch in 1964 have featured a prominent numeral '2' in the design. Notable designs include the electronic double striped 2, the white TWO ident: the only ident not to use a numeral '2' and most notably the 1991 '2's.

The 1991 '2's featured a serif numeral '2' being at the centre of an, initially art related scene; however the idents moved away from this style later on as the stations style changed. The expansive set of idents from 1991 to 2001 — lasting over a decade — are generally regarded as the best idents ever produced for a television channel; they ended in November 2001. The BBC corporate logo was updated within the idents in October 1997, though the idents moved away from the original viridian colour scheme in these latter years. The subsequent presentation style was introduced on 19 November 2001 and kept the same figure '2', but in a yellow background and given a personality.

The current presentational style feature the theme of a "Window on the World", with the '2' numeral providing that view. Introduced on 18 February 2007, the new look also saw the channel adopt a new teal coloured box logo, featuring the BBC logo above the name 'TWO' in the font Avenir.

Regional variations[link]

BBC Two also has regional variations in the nations: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Nations versions of BBC Two share the same idents, but with the nation name in the BBC Two box. BBC Two Scotland shows a lot of specifically Scottish programming on the channel, as well as its sister channel BBC One Scotland, and the schedules are often mixed around to match. BBC Two Northern Ireland and BBC Two Wales both have the option to opt out, however they generally stick to the network schedule, only opting out a couple of times each week. Until December 2008, BBC Wales broadcast a special, digital-only channel, BBC 2W, which contained more opt-outs than analogue-only BBC Two Wales. BBC Scotland occasionally broadcast Gaelic-language programmes under the banner BBC Two Alba.

In England, each of the English regions has the option to opt out of the network programming on the analogue feed, and replace it with local programming. However this is usually only done in exceptional circumstances, as all regular regional programming has been transferred to BBC One, and the English regions are not available on digital on BBC Two. There is no specific BBC Two England, this role is fulfilled by the network BBC Two.

Accessibility[link]

The BBC announced in May 2008 that it had achieved its aim for all programming to have subtitles for viewers with hearing difficulties.^[9][10] These are available on the Ceefax and BBC Red Button services. The BBC also offers audio description on some popular programmes^[11] for visually impaired-viewers. The percentage of the BBC's total television output with audio description available is 10%, having been increased from 8% in 2008.^[12]

High-definition[link]

Currently, programmes from BBC Two are shown in HD on the dedicated BBC HD channel, alongside programmes from BBC's Three and Four, as well as some select series from CBBC and CBeebies. However, in plans outlined by the director general Mark Thompson on 6 October 2011, BBC HD will close to be replaced by a high definition simulcast of BBC Two. This BBC Two HD will work much the same way as BBC One HD currently.^[13] This move allows the corporation to save £2.1 million, used to count towards its budget deficit following the freezing of the licence fee and the additional financial responsibility of addition services.^[14]

See also[link]

BBC portal

	Book: BBC Channels (UK)
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• History of BBC television idents

References[link]

External links[link]

• BBC Two at BBC Online
• BBC Two – Happy 40th Birthday at BBC Online

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Ken Block
Ken Block in 2008.
Nationality	American
Born	(1967-11-21) 21 November 1967 (age 44) Long Beach, California
2012 Rally America
Debut season	2005
Current team	Monster World Rally Team
Best finish	2nd Overall in Rally America in 2006 and 2008
Awards
2004[1] 2005[1] 2009	• One of the most influential people (#17) in Sports Business Journal • Ad Age's Marketing 50 • One of the Fast 50 in Fast Company Magazine • 40 Under 40 Awards, Sports Business Journal • Rally America's Rookie of the Year • Gymkhana 2 was 2009's #4 most viewed viral video

Ken Block (born November 21, 1967, in Long Beach, California)^[2] is a professional rally driver with the Monster World Rally Team. Block is also one of the co-founders and recently appointed Chief Brand Officer of DC Shoes.^[1] Block has also competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, and motocross.

Rallying[link]

2005[link]

In 2005, Ken Block began his national rallying career with the Vermont SportsCar team.^[3] Vermont SportsCar prepared a 2005 Subaru WRX STi for Block to compete. His first event of the rallying season was Sno*Drift, where he ended up finishing seventh overall and fifth in the Group N class.^[4] During the 2005 season, Block had five top five finishes and placed third overall in the Group N class and fourth overall in the Rally America National Championship.^[3] At the end of his first rallying year, Ken Block had won the Rally America Rookie of the Year award.^[5]

2006[link]

In 2006, Ken Block along with his DC rally teammate Travis Pastrana signed a new sponsorship deal with Subaru.^[3] Through this deal with Subaru, the teammates became known as "Subaru Rally Team USA."^[3] With the new rally season, Block also got a brand new Vermont SportsCar prepped 2006 Subaru WRX STi.^[3] He competed in the first ever X Games rally event at X Games XII.^[3] In the competition, Block ended up finishing third to take the bronze.^[3] He went on to compete in the 2006 Rally America National Championship, where he finished second overall.^[3]

2007[link]

In 2007, Ken Block competed in the X Games XIII rally event, where he placed second overall and won a silver medal.^[5] In the 2007 Rally America National Championship, Block finished third overall.^[5] During this season, Block also entered in a few rounds of the World Rally Championship; Rally Mexico and Rally New Zealand.^[4] In Rally New Zealand, Block recorded two top-five stage times in the Group N class.^[4] At the end of 2007, Block had achieved 19 podiums and 8 overall victories in rally events.^[1]

2008[link]

In 2008, Block was provided with a brand new rally prepped 2008 Subaru WRX STi to compete. Block decided to compete in the Rallye Baie-des Chaleurs of the Canadian Rally Championship to gain some experience with his new 2008 rally car and prepare for the World Rally Championships later this year.^[6] Block gained his first Canadian rally win at the event.^[6] This was only the second event for the new car.^[6] Block and his co-driver were unable to get any championship points at the event due to not having a Canadian competition license.^[6] Block competed in the Rally New York USA competition and finished in first place.^[7] In the X Games XIV rally competition, Block finished tied for third place with Dave Mirra.^[8] This occurrence was due to both competitors having issues with their car. Block, who made it to the semi-finals of the event, had a radiator problem after landing the car awkwardly on a jump. With both bronze place competitors in damaged cars unable to compete, the medals were awarded to both of them.^[8]

Block competed in the 2008 Rally America National championship, which concluded on October 17, 2008. In the event, he finished second overall with a strong victory in the last event. In the Lake Superior Performance Rally stage, Block finished over one minute ahead of his next closest competitor and secured the second overall position.^[9] Next up for Block this rally season is three World Rally Championship events.^[4]

2009[link]

Block appeared in a segment of motoring show Top Gear.^[10]

2010[link]

Ken Block testing Ford Fiesta for the 2010 Rally America season

Block driving a Ford Focus RS WRC at the 2010 Rallye de France

On January 6, 2010 the Monster World Rally Team announced Ken as their driver for selected rounds of the World Rally Championship, in which he will be campaigning the Monster/Ford Racing Focus RS WRC 08. His car will be prepared and run by the North of England based M-Sport, who also prepare the official Ford WRC cars. He will be simultaneously running in his sixth season of the Rally America Championship in an open class Ford Fiesta, as well as his fifth X-games. Ken will also be the first ever American driver to campaign for the World Rally Championship. On February 27, Block won the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood (Rally America) for the 5th consecutive time. This broke the record held by John Buffum.^[11] Ken is currently being trained by former Ford factory driver Markko Märtin. At the Spain rally, he won his first 2 points in World Rally Championship.

2011[link]

On March 23, Block and his co-driver Alex Gelsomino were taken to hospital, having rolled their Ford Fiesta RS WRC during the shakedown stage of the 2011 Rally de Portugal in Faro, Portugal.^[12] A representative of the Monster World Rally team later stated that both men were fine.^[13]

Complete Rally America results[link]

(key)

Complete WRC results[link]

* Season in progress.

PWRC results[link]

Other motorsport activities[link]

On October 15, 2009, it was reported that Block was close to a deal to join the World Rally Championship in a new Ford team. Long time co-driver Alex Gelsomino is also reportedly involved in the deal. Former Subaru WRC driver Chris Atkinson has been reported to be lined up as Block's team-mate in the all-new Monster Energy Drink Ford World Rally Team.^[14]

In 2005, Ken Block along with his DC Shoes associates participated in the Gumball 3000 Rally. For the event they sent out three modified 2004 Subaru WRX STi's sponsored by DC Shoes.^[15][16]

In 2006, Ken Block competed in the One Lap of America competition along with Brian Scotto. They were teamed up in a 2006 Subaru WRX STi and finished forty-fifth overall.^[17]

In 2006, for the Discovery Channel show Stunt Junkies, Ken Block jumped his Subaru WRX STi rally car 171 feet (52 m) and a max height of 25 feet (7.6 m).^[3] The whole episode was dedicated to Ken Block attempting this stunt.

In 2007, Ken Block joined the DC Shoes Snowboarding team at New Zealand's Snow Park.^[3] Block did massive jumps and assisted in snowboarding tricks while driving his rally car on the mountain alongside the snowboarders. The session made the cover of the December 2007 issue of Snowboarder Magazine and closed out the MTN.LAB 1.5 DVD.^[3]

In 2009, for the BBC show Top Gear, Ken took James May out for Gymkhana-style driving at Block's stunt course at Inyokern Airport, an operational California airport, also starring Ricky Carmichael, whom Ken describes as 'a good friend'.

In 2010, for the BBC show Top Gear, Ken took the feature car from the previous episode (a Reliant Robin) for a lap of the Top Gear test track. He rolled the car and was unable to complete a lap but was unhurt.

On January 6, 2010, the announcement is made as Ken joins up with Ford and begins his WRC career driving both a Ford Fiesta and Focus RS WRC.

On August 24, 2010, Block released the first of a three part Gymkhana 3 video release featuring his new Ford Fiesta.^[18]

Ken Block also holds the world record for the world's fastest snow cat, a modified Subaru STI called a Trax STI.^{[citation needed]}

On September 14, 2010, Block's third Gymkhana video, featuring a Ford Fiesta, was released on YouTube.^[19] The video got more than seven million views in its first week.

On August 16, 2011, the fourth Gymkhana video, The Hollywood Megamercial was released on YouTube, featuring Block driving around the Universal Studios backlot.^[20]

Involvement In Colin McRae: Dirt 2 and Dirt 3[link]

Ken Block is featured as a driver in Codemasters Colin McRae: Dirt 2, along with his Subaru Rally Team USA Impreza.
In Dirt 3 he is seen as a driver and Gymkhana teacher, his Monster World Rally Team vehicles are available in the game.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ken Block

• Ken Block's Official site
• Monster World Rally Team
• Rally Results and News
• Subaru Rally Team USA
• Rally America Website
• Ken Block Official Merchandise Store
• Ken Block Interview
• Gymkhana racing improved by Ken Block, Video, ~4min
• dirt2game.com

The Stig is a character in the British motoring television show Top Gear. The character plays on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who, or indeed what, is inside the character's racing suit. The character was the creation of presenter Jeremy Clarkson and the show's producer Andy Wilman. "Stig" was a nickname for new boys at their old school, Repton. Although there is one "main" Stig, there are several "spin-off" Stigs, referred to by the presenters as "The Stig's <usually a reference to where the presenters are located> cousin."

The Stig is responsible for setting lap times for cars tested on the show, as well as instructing celebrity guests in the show's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car section. (see "Role" below) There have currently been three Stigs—the first Stig started on episode 1, but was killed off in the first episode of series 3. The second Stig appeared in the next episode, and lasted until series 15. The third Stig took over from December 2010.

The BBC has always refused to confirm officially the identity of the driver who plays the Stig. "Who is The Stig?" became a frequently asked question on the internet. The identity of the original 'Black' Stig, Perry McCarthy, was exposed by a Sunday newspaper after the first series of the show, in January 2003. McCarthy confirmed that he was 'The Stig' in the second edition of his autobiography, published following series two, and is now generally acknowledged as having been the first Stig, even by BBC media. The second Stig's identity was revealed, in his own autobiography, as Ben Collins, a professional racing driver who has participated in Formula Three, Indy Lights, sportscars, GT racing, stock cars & V8 Supercars.

Creation and name[link]

The idea for the character was part of host Jeremy Clarkson's and producer Andy Wilman's concept for the relaunched Top Gear show, bringing a new format to the original version of Top Gear which ceased production in 2001. The relaunched show would introduce a live studio audience, the Stig, a racetrack, and madcap stunts.^[1] Clarkson is credited by the Sunday Times with having come up with the original idea for the Stig.^[2] Clarkson and Wilman wanted to have a professional racing driver as part of the show's cast, but ran into difficulty finding a driver sufficiently adept at speaking on-camera. Clarkson then asked Wilman why the driver needed to speak at all, and the decision was made that the Stig's role would be silent.

The name Stig derives from Wilman and Clarkson's time at the private Repton School, where new boys had always been called "Stig".^[1][3] According to McCarthy, speaking in 2006, the producers had wanted the anonymous driver to be called 'The Gimp', referring to the use of gimp suits in BDSM sexual role-playing. After McCarthy objected, the name Stig was settled upon.^[4] McCarthy had said of the idea at the time that "I don't want to be forever remembered as the Gimp".^[2]

Characteristics[link]

Uniform[link]

The Black Stig wore a black helmet and overalls. The White Stig (MkI) uniform consists of a white Alpinestars racing suit with small Grand Prix Racewear logo, a white Simpson Bandit and later, Diamondback race helmet, black on white Alpinestars Tech 1-ZX gloves, and white Alpinestars Tech 1-T racing shoes. His white helmet was originally a Simpson Speedway RX model, while his shoes also began as Alpinestars Tech 1-K kart items.^{[citation needed]}. The New Stig's uniform is very similar to the previous Stig but has black epaulettes.

According to the Sunday Times writing in 2006, most of the crew did not know his identity, relaying how one camera assistant once observed him eating his lunch in the back of an ambulance to avoid being spotted.^[3] Again according to The Sunday Times writing in 2009, just a few BBC production staff and other journalists knew the Stig's real identity.^[2]

Anonymity and silence[link]

In the very first episode when introducing the Black Stig, Clarkson noted that, "We don't know its name, we really don't know its name, nobody knows its name, and we don't wanna know, 'cause it's a racing driver".^{[ep 1]} According to the Daily Mail writing in 2010, his face is never revealed on set, not even the celebrity guests training on the reasonably priced car are allowed to learn his identity. He stays suited and with his helmet on throughout the show, arriving early and leaving late, and having his own dressing room and eating privately. The studio audience has no access to him at any time.^[5]

Although the Stig does talk with celebrities while preparing them for their "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" lap times, he is never shown talking on screen. Clarkson has joked that he is "not a very talkative chap" when keeping silent while on set, in order to hide his identity.^[3] In a rare spoken interview, the Stig has reportedly said when asked what his real name was, that he didn't remember because his memory had been erased when he got the job.^[6] The Stig's muteness is extended to appearances in other media, such as the 'Brain Stig' viral video released by the BBC on their YouTube channel, to promote the new Top Gear website in 2009, depicting a frustrated staff member holding a brainstorming session for show ideas.^[7][8]

Clarkson has written in his newspaper column that the Stig is not permitted to talk because "the opinions of all racing drivers are completely worthless", going on to explain that, because of their familiarity with cars equipped for track racing, they believe any and all road cars are rubbish, even a Lamborghini Gallardo or a Bugatti Veyron. He confirmed this by test driving for himself a BMW 3-series diesel road car converted to a race car, complete with slick tyres, race suspension and brakes, and concluding that driving it was "more exciting and more fun to drive than any supercar".^[9]

Driving ability[link]

The show has often compared and contrasted the Stig's driving ability, particularly against Formula One drivers. When Jeremy Clarkson stated that the Stig believed that the Suzuki Liana, the show's Reasonably Priced Car at the time, could do a time of 1:44, a former F1 driver, Nigel Mansell, appearing as a guest on the programme, duly obliged by posting a lap time of 1:44.6, while the Stig then posted a lap time of 1:44.4.^{[ep 2]} Clarkson has often mentioned that F1 drivers seem to take a different racing line on the test track than the Stig, such as on Jenson Button's drive;^{[ep 3]} however, during Rubens Barrichello's and Lewis Hamilton's visits to the show, Clarkson observed that they took the same line around the track as The Stig.^{[ep 4]} Formula One driver Mark Webber's appearance on the show was marked at the conclusion of his lap with Clarkson presenting him with an "I AM THE STIG" T-shirt.^{[ep 5]} The show made various references to the Stig apparently having developed a jealous rivalry with Rubens Barrichello, after he became the first person to beat his time posted in the "Reasonably Priced Car" by a tenth of a second, posting a lap time of 1:44.3. Sebastian Vettel currently holds the record for F1 drivers with a time of 1:44.0.^{[ep 6]}

Other characteristics[link]

The Stig has been described by Clarkson as having a very small brain, worthless opinions, and a disorder called "Mansell Syndrome".^{[ep 1]}

The Stig's status and oddity has often been underlined with humorous introductions by the presenters before his appearances on the show. Initially, the Stig would be given simple humorous introductions on the show, such as "His Holiness, The Stig!" (introducing the Power Lap for the Bowler Wildcat.^{[ep 7]}) Beginning in Series 6, these began to follow a format of "Some say that [facts]. All we know is, he's called the Stig.", where the facts give away some unusual trait or other detail about the Stig.^[2] These often detail his odd character traits, such as being afraid of bells^[10] or confused by stairs.^[2] His possibly machine-like or at least non-human body is hinted at by revelations that his voice can only be heard by cats,^[11] or that he never blinks, naturally faces magnetic north, all his legs are hydraulic, he has two sets of knees, and heart ticks like a watch.^[2] He is even hinted at being a wild creature, spending his spare time catching fish with his tongue or foraging for wolves in the woods.^[2] Other odd details revealed in these introductions have included such facts as his face appears on high-value stamps in Sweden^[10] his left nipple is the shape of the Nürburgring,^[2] one of his eyes is a testicle,^[11] that he invented the curtain,^[12] that he daydreams of Rubens Barrichello being caught in a ham slicer, his salary is paid by the BBC in strong pornography, and that he developed the wonderful scent of Wednesday.

His introductions often jokingly refer to current events of the day, such as when Clarkson introduced Michael Schumacher as the Stig in 2009 by stating he "recently submitted a £20,000 expenses claim for some gravel for his moat," in reference to the MPs' expenses scandal,^[12] or when it was said "if you give him a really important job, he'll skive off and play croquet", referring to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in 2006.^{[ep 8]} One introduction even made reference to the conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana: "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." Referring to the Arab Spring in early 2011, the Stig was said to regret "buying his new holiday home in downtown Cairo."

For the trip to the Isle of Man road test, the Stig was depicted as a piece of cargo, being collected by Clarkson from the baggage conveyor at the airport.^{[ep 9]} On the Top Gear 2005 DVD Revved Up, the Stig is depicted as being stored in a cupboard when not in use. The Stig is also portrayed as having bizarre listening habits as heard on the car stereo as he performs Power Laps. Often a specific genre is chosen for one or more series. These have included power ballads, one-hit wonders, easy listening, country and western, Morse code, progressive rock, whale songs, baroque, advertising jingles, foreign language tapes, romantic novels, salesman techniques, the hits of Elton John, the speeches of Margaret Thatcher, self-help tapes, pipe band music, Chas & Dave, vuvuzelas, and, in episode 5 of series 15, the Bee Gees in German.

The Stig's odd persona was maintained in his appearance at the National Television Awards, when he silently accepted an award, and handed the host Griff Rhys Jones a letter from Clarkson, May and Hammond, instructing him to give the Stig the award in his left hand, as his right one is magnetic, and cautioning organisers that he wasn't to be seated near the cast of Coronation Street, as "he's decided all northerners are edible".^[13]

Role[link]

The Stig is credited alongside Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May as a presenter of Top Gear in the end credits. The Stig's primary roles on the show centre on the Top Gear test track at the show's base at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey. His two main functions are to post lap times for various featured performance cars in the 'Power Laps' segment, and to train celebrity guests to set lap times on the test track in the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' segment.^[5][14][15]

The Stig's role as a test driver is described on the Top Gear website Power Laps board as follows:

Every performance road car that comes to the Top Gear test track eventually ends up in the hands of our tame racing driver...He doesn't do sponsorship, excuses or post race press-conferences. He exists for one reason alone-to wring every last drop of performance out of any car he drives, giving us a definitive lap time around our demanding test track.^[10]

When first introduced, the Stig was described as the resident test driver, as the presenters could not consistently post fast times themselves. His stated mission was to "just go out there and drive fast".^{[ep 1]} This was reflected by the original Stig Perry McCarthy who described in 2006 how a racing driver was intended to be used as part of the presenting team in order to produce definitive fastest lap times for tested cars.^[4]

Identity[link]

Previous Stigs[link]

Black Stig[link]

Racing driver Perry McCarthy was the original, Black Stig, appearing in 22 episodes of the programme in all.^[2][12]

McCarthy got the role of the Stig after a chance meeting with Jeremy Clarkson at the launch party for McCarthy's autobiography, Flat Out, Flat Broke: Formula 1 the Hard Way!, published on 4 July 2002.^{[2][16][17][18]} This led to an audition as a regular presenter, before the production team then decided the racing driver would be anonymous.^[2][4] (Although in 2008, McCarthy said that Clarkson mentioned the idea of a 'top secret' racing driver at their first meeting.^[16])

After the first series ended, an article on 12 January 2003 in The Sunday Mirror named the Stig as Perry McCarthy.^[17][18][19] The newspaper quoted a show insider stating "Just a handful of the crew know that he is actually Perry". At the time, McCarthy simply stated "I do know who the Stig is but I cannot comment any further."^[19][20] After the second series ended, McCarthy published the second edition of his autobiography, confirming that he was The Stig.^{[citation needed]} McCarthy was then "killed off" in the first episode of the third series, which aired on 26 October 2003.

The scene which saw Black Stig "killed off", nicknamed "Top Gun vs Top Gear", was an attempt to race to 100 mph (160 km/h) and then come to a halt on the 200 metres (660 ft) long flight deck of HMS Invincible, a Royal Navy aircraft carrier, on which British Aerospace Sea Harrier jump jets reach 100 mph (160 km/h) before take-off. He would be using the 'old Top Gear Jag', a white Jaguar XJS bought for a 'couple of hundred quid', stripped of its fittings and fitted with nitrous injection, to take it to 500 bhp (370 kW), which had been featured in series 2, beating 'just about every supercar on the planet' in a drag race. Black Stig accelerated along the deck, and an on screen speedometer indicated 109 mph (175 km/h), before a cutaway shot saw the car flying off the end of the runway ramp and into the sea. Clarkson then revealed in the last scene of the episode, that the shot of a glove floating on the sea was all that divers had found.^[21][22] According to McCarthy, "We tried to make it as much like a scene out of James Bond as possible".^[16]

The explanations for his exit vary.^[2] Speaking in 2008, McCarthy stated "My time at Top Gear ended nicely enough. I’d had a great time and felt it was time to call it a day. So we all shook hands and they threw me off an aircraft carrier."^[16] The Times claimed in 2009 that he fell out with producers.^[12] In August 2010, he described how he became tired of the job, which he claimed paid just £700 a week. He said part of his annoyance with the role had come from an attempt by a car owner to sue him for ruining his car,^[23] a rare Jaguar C-Type, winner of the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hours, and the BBC stating they could not defend him due to his anonymity. He stated that the BBC eventually chose not to renew his contract, and wrote him out.^[22]

Speaking in 2009, McCarthy relayed how to keep his anonymity, when he drove to work as the Stig, he would don the Stig's helmet while going through the security gates at Dunsfold aerodrome, and then he would change into his racing overalls in a special room behind the gatehouse, before then driving into the studio areas. He would speak as little as possible in the backstage areas, and put on an accent, which some mistook as French.^[2] McCarthy also explained that hiding his identity while coaching the celebrities for Star in a Reasonably Priced Car proved difficult. He stated that he did reveal his true identity while coaching Ross Kemp and David Soul, as he had previously met them. For other drives, if celebrities asked if he was a particular person, he would just say "How did you know?", adding that more often than not, the suggestion was Michael Schumacher.^[2]

Having had background in top level motor racing before Top Gear, and having originally intended to be a Formula One driver, albeit failing to qualify for any races in the 1992 Formula One season for the Moda Judd team, McCarthy stated in 2006 he did not regret leaving the supercars on Top Gear, and instead harboured ambitions at re-entering racing in the Grand Prix Masters series. After Top Gear he went on to run an investment company,^[4] and earn £6,000 a time doing after dinner speaking.^[22]

However, according to the Sunday Times writing in 2009, McCarthy had revealed in his book that there had always been more than one Stig, and that 47 year-old Julian Bailey, a former Formula One driver for Tyrrell and Lotus, had acted as a stand in for McCarthy, as Black Stig.^[2] In a June 2009 interview with the Daily Mail, Bailey, who was selling his home in Effingham, Surrey, said "I was one of the Stigs...which was pretty handy as filming was done just down the road...I have stopped now, but I am not supposed to talk about it."^[24]

The First White Stig[link]

The First White Stig
The Stig
Top Gear character
Portrayed by	Ben Collins, occasionally others
Duration	2003–2010
First appearance	2 November 2003 (Series 3; Episode 2)
Last appearance	1 August 2010 (Series 15; Episode 6)

This Stig started in the episode after Black Stig was killed off, and lasted until August 2010, when he revealed himself as Ben Collins. This Stig's job was similar to the last Stig's although while Black Stig was primarily used for Power Lap times and Reasonably Priced Car training, the white Stig's role had been expanded, and he has been used beyond the Top Gear test track in other show challenges and road tests, such as producing timed runs in the Isle of Man road test,^{[ep 9]} driving a Caterham Seven from Caterham to Knockhill,^{[ep 10]} riding a London Bus, the DLR and the Tube across London,^{[ep 11]} and jumping a snowmobile off a ski-jump in Lillehammer, Norway.^{[ep 12]} He has also been used in various roles at the studio, such as playing a police pursuit driver in the White Van Man challenge.^{[ep 3][3]}

Since Clarkson's 2010 DVD The Italian Job, This Stig is now known as "Sacked Stig".^{[citation needed]}

Speculation over the White Stig's identity[link]

There had been much speculation over the identity of this Stig since 2005, from various sources, claiming that a number of drivers, including Collins, Damon Hill, Julian Bailey, Russ Swift, Darren Turner and Tim Schrick, as well as former Top Gear Presenter, now Fifth Gear presenter Tiff Needell were the Stig. There had also been speculation of multiple drivers being the Stig. Many people had also claimed to be the Stig themselves, including Jay Kay and Damon Hill.

When Richard Hammond crashed a jet-powered car, the accident report into the crash described Ben Collins as someone who worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant.^[25]

Original Stig Perry McCarthy stated in November 2006 that he knew who the White Stig was, and hinted at the multiple driver theory.^[4]

Many racing drivers, and principals, including Andrew Kirkaldy, Susie Stoddart and Stewart Roden claimed to know who it was, saying that "In the racing world, a lot of the team managers (and racing drivers) know who is under the helmet, but it's top secret", with Kirkaldy claiming He's reasonably quiet and modest and doesn't ever talk about it. I only found out by chance and he's certainly never admitted it."^[6]

After observing the Stig's charity drive around the Silverstone Circuit just before the July 2008 British Grand Prix, former Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso remarked, "Whoever’s in that car is a seriously good driver... I’ve no idea who he is, but he’s definitely ex-F1".^[26][27]

During 2009, the rumours of the Stig's identity increased rapidly, with various newspapers claiming during January that it was indeed Collins. These include a builder who claimed to have seen his white helmet and uniform on display in his house while doing some work for him, and an art gallery owner and his son claiming that in 2008 a man had enquired about the creation of 450 signed and limited edition prints of the Stig. He first claimed to be a BBC executive, but then revealed himself to be the Stig after they agreed to do the job and signed a confidentiality agreement to keep it secret.^[20][28]

Furthermore, the tabloid News of the World obtained information stating he was on a salary of around £150,000 a year, by combining his Top Gear job with some stunt and test driving. He was in his 30s, married, living in a £300,000 home and drove a car worth £15,000. It quoted the BBC source stating "This is the best-kept secret in motor racing and we want to keep it that way. No one will ever officially confirm his identity."^[20][29] This contradicts many newspapers beliefs (and that of car magazines, such as Peter Lawton, consumer editor of What Car? magazine) that this had been an "open secret within the motoring world for some years" which the media had previously kept secret in order to "uphold the spirit of the programme".

A BBC source said "The simple fact of the matter is that there are currently four Stigs who drive on the test track" for reasons of practicality. The report claimed that in addition to the rumoured Ben Collins,and MIRA Ice Racing Champion Mike Wilson, Julian Bailey was also currently working as the Stig, with more drivers also used when their schedules clashed. Supporting this, it relayed the source's explanation that if you look at the show the height of the Stig varies.^{[citation needed]}

Whilst these rumours were ongoing, the Top Gear website blog facetiously revealed that the Stig was a Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir Tom McKillop attempting to recover crippling losses, as well as the newly elected US President Barack Obama, who only ran for election to fill in the time between series, and Graham Hill, who they claim faked his own death in a plane crash in 1975 to take the role.^{[2][30][31][32]}

In his newspaper column in The Sun on 24 January 2009, Clarkson joked that the Stig was in fact the BBC Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell, declaring he would now have to be killed by being dropped from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane, and the Telegraph will have to now find another big secret to expose, such as the size of the TARDIS, or the identity of Father Christmas.^[33]

The Daily Mail claimed it had tracked down "another former Stig" who anonymously told them the names of a total of eight drivers who had "recently stood in as the test-driving mystery man." In addition to the previously mentioned Ben Collins and Julian Bailey, and the man named "Will", the paper named the Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen, the former GT world champion Chris Goodwin, stunt drivers Terry Grant and Russ Swift, and the Swedish snow mobile racing champion Dan Lang. It claimed Kovalainen raced a Formula One car around the test track in 2004, and Lang was the driver in the snowmobile ski jump stunt.^{[ep 12]} The BBC refused to comment on the story.^[34]

In September 2009, British racing driver Justin Bell, best friend of the original Stig Perry McCarthy, has said he knew who the Stig was, but would not reveal his name. He also stated that he didn't understand why he did it, stating "You can't talk about it and nobody knows who you are. There's nothing good about it ... unless you go to a convention of other people in white helmets and white suits". Bell spoke out after being hired for the job of driving instructor on The Jay Leno Show's Green Car Challenge segment, similar to the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, causing him to be dubbed 'America's Stig'.^[35]

In September 2010, it was claimed that 26-year-old racing driver Phil Keen had stood in for the White Stig, both behind the wheel, and in appearances, when Collins was unavailable, including at the 2009 Top Gear Live event in Germany.^[36]

Michael Schumacher 'revealed'[link]

On 20 June 2009, Jeremy Clarkson revealed in his Sun newspaper column that the Stig would finally show the world his face in the series thirteen opening episode to be broadcast the next day.^[37] Clarkson said that The Stig wished to unmask himself to quash speculation over his identity, stating "He's been fed up with newspapers speculating that he's a photocopier salesman from Bolton, or lives in a pebble-dashed house in Bristol".^[12]

The show first depicted the Stig driving a black Ferrari FXX round the test track in a time of 1:10.7 seconds.^[12] Afterwards, after walking into the studio and sitting on the green couch, with the audience shouting "Off! Off! Off! Off!", the Stig took his helmet off to reveal he was the Formula One multiple World Champion Michael Schumacher.^[38][39] In the following interview, Schumacher then played up to some of the supposed defining character traits of the Stig, such as the claim he only knows two facts about ducks (both being wrong), and that he is illegal in only nine (and not seventeen) US states.^[12]

The BBC would initially not confirm or deny it was just a stunt, but a spokesman was quoted as saying "You have to bear in mind that Top Gear is an entertainment programme. We never reveal who or what The Stig is,".^[40] The next day however, The Telegraph wrote: "A spokesman for Top Gear confirmed Schumacher had been The Stig during the Ferrari circuit, driving his own car ... But the spokesman added that the identity of the driver at other times would remain "a mystery".^[41]

Ben Collins' autobiography[link]

On 19 August 2010 it was reported that there was a legal dispute progressing between publishers representing the Stig and the BBC over plans to release an autobiography revealing his identity. It stated that the dispute surrounded the Stig's dissatisfaction at being unable to exploit his fame, and earning an estimated £5,000 and £10,000 per show, compared to six and seven figure earnings by the other Top Gear presenters. It described the situation as incredibly tense, with Clarkson said to be deeply upset, and with show insiders fearing that the Stig could either quit the show, or be fired, with the dispute needing to be settled way before the sixteenth series. A BBC spokesman confirmed to the paper that "The BBC is in a legal dispute over the publication of a book relating to Top Gear as this breaches agreed contractual and confidentiality obligations relating to the show."^[5][14][15]

Then, the Sunday Times claimed to have unearthed more evidence that showed Collins was the Stig, namely financial documents for his company Collins Autosport dating back to the White Stig's entry to the show. They stated the documents reported in December 2003 an increase in profits, put down to "driving services provided for the BBC, mainly in the Top Gear programme", just a month after the White Stig's first appearance. When contacted over the story, Collins merely stated "I can't speak to you. I'm going into a tunnel". Responding to the report, the BBC stated that it was "no surprise that Ben Collins's company listed Top Gear amongst its work as the driver had appeared numerous times on the programme and he often supplied other drivers for both the programme and Top Gear Live".^[42]

The BBC sued the publisher for an attempt to profit from the unauthorised use of the Top Gear brand, maintaining that revealing the identity would spoil viewers' enjoyment of the show. The publisher responded, stating "We are disappointed that the BBC has chosen to spend licence fee payers' money to suppress this book and will vigorously defend the perfectly legitimate right of this individual to tell his story".^[42]

The Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman wrote on a Top Gear blog on 27 August, attacking the publisher for trying to cash in on the programme, describing them as a "bunch of chancers", describing the action as an issue of trust, and justifying the use of license fee to fight the case based on the brand's value to the programme and the viewers, clarifying that half of the case costs were being met by BBC Worldwide, their commercial arm.^[43][44]

On 29 August 2010, the Daily Mirror claimed the BBC had already sacked Collins from the Stig role, citing the Stig's appearance at the Top Gear Live August 2010 Stunt Show at the Nürburgring in Germany, at the same time as Collins was photographed at his West Country home.^[45][46] When asked about the ongoing High Court action, Collins stated "I am not allowed to talk about it."^[46] Despite objections from the publisher, the legal case hearings began in private on 31 August.

Outcome[link]

After a day and a half of hearings, the case concluded, with the judge finding against the BBC, refusing to grant an injunction blocking the publication. The proposed book was reportedly called The Man in the White Suit, and was indeed about Ben Collins, but still clarifying that it "won't confirm or deny that Ben Collins either was or remains The Stig". Collins was in court to hear the final judgment. HarperCollins confirmed that the reasons for declining the injunction were to be given by the judge later, in a private judgment.^[47]

Both Collins and Harper Collins refused to confirm his status as the Stig to reporters waiting outside the court after the case, but the publisher maintained surprise at the BBC's decision to fight the case, stating the information in dispute had always been in the public domain.^[48][49][48] Following the court ruling, Collins' autobiography, The Man in the White Suit, was due to be published on 16 September 2010.^[49] As of 2 September 2010, the web site of the Gordon Poole Agency, the talent agency representing Ben Collins, referred to Collins as Top Gear's The Stig.^[50]

In the immediate reaction, The Telegraph asserted that the judgment meant that the Stig had now been conclusively outed as Ben Collins, bringing an end to seven years of speculation and theories as to who wore the white overalls. It also conceded that, " with the corporation yet to officially acknowledge the fact, Collins' future in the role is less certain".^[51] The BBC News website published a profile of Collins' career on the same day, but merely stated that he will "publish an autobiography in which he claims to be The Stig".^[52]

Aftermath[link]

Following the BBC's failure to obtain an injunction against the autobiography, James May jokingly stated "Obviously I'm now going to have to take some legal action of my own, because I have been the Stig for the past seven years, and I don't know who this bloke is, who's mincing around in the High Court pretending it's him."^[47] May kept up the pretence in a column in The Telegraph, expounding on his double life as Captain Slow and the Stig, and how his replacement was named Collins - the Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins.^[53]

A couple of names were then considered to be the next Stig, if there was to be one, most notably Heikki Kovalainen and Anthony Davidson as the favourites, as well as former White Stig stand-in, racing driver Phil Keen.^[36] The odds on a female Stig were also cut, after Clarkson suggested the character will be replaced.^[54]

The Telegraph claimed that Collins had been axed by Top Gear, citing BBC sources who said that as a result of the court case, Collins' contract with the BBC, having already expired in the previous month, would not now be renewed by the BBC. It claimed that a television talent management agency was now planning to use Collins in a new show in competition with Top Gear. It also claimed the BBC had spent up to £100,000 in their bid to have the court impose a temporary injunction banning Collins' book.^[55]

Speaking to a radio station the same day, James May explained that in the new series of the show, for which filming was to start the following week, he will be dealt with in a similar way to how the Black Stig was killed off and replaced, having "had to be dealt with by Andy [Wilman, the show producer]". Possible ideas included "driving to The Stig's house and nailing his head to the table", in addition to reclaiming the overalls, shoes and gloves, which were "not his", claiming Wilman was furious at Collins for writing his autobiography.^[56]

On 4 September, The Sun quoted a BBC spokeswoman as saying "No decision has yet been made as to whether The Stig will be killed off.

Under the heading 'Driver Wanted', Jeremy wrote in his column in The Sun that "Top Gear, the motoring show on BBC2, is looking for a driver with a high level of racing experience to be The Stig. The successful applicant need not speak English, or indeed any language at all, but he or she must hate Boy Scouts, be able to punch a horse to the ground, have eyes that blink sideways and, most important of all, understand that no one, under any circumstances, should ever rat on their friends." The newspaper claimed only three people other than the presenters Clarkson, Hammond and May, had known the Stig's identity for certain, before the High Court judgment.^[57]

In an interview on 7 September 2010, Jeremy Clarkson said, 'put it this way, he's history as far as we are concerned. He's sacked.'^[58]

On 5 November 2010, the Top Gear website released a video clip about its "Stig Farm", the end of which introduced a new Stig for Top Gear Live. He sports a white helmet and overalls, with black highlights on the shoes, sleeves and shoulders. The video also featured a satire of Collins' autobiography, in which one example of a Stig tries to write a book on a computer, before proceeding to correct one of its numerous mistakes with Tippex.

In the USA road trip (aired 21 December 2010), the presenters branded the Stig a traitor, with James May declaring his true name to be Judas Iscariot. In a later challenge in which the presenters had to take part in a mock drive-by shooting, the targets used were cardboard cut-outs of the Stig—which, on his turn, Hammond turned around to take the specific opportunity to "shoot [the Stig] in the back!"

During Collins' appearance with the military amputees rally team broadcast in July 2011, Collins was introduced and acknowledged by Richard Hammond as "ex-Stig... Ben Collins".^[59]

The Second White Stig (Current Stig)[link]

After the identity of the previous Stig was revealed, the producers of Top Gear were unsure about whether to have a new Stig. Pictures emerged, however, of a 'Stig Farm', in which the producers and presenters supposedly went to pick the new Stig. At the end of the Middle East Special, James, Jeremy and Richard went to the manger in Bethlehem and the baby turned out to be a baby Stig. In the first episode of series 16, Jeremy and James explained that Stigs grow very quickly and within a month Baby Stig was fully grown and referred to him as New Stig. He allegedly set broadly very similar lap times to "Sacked Stig". He set the fastest time of any car around the track of 1:15.1 in an Ariel Atom V8 on his first episode.

Appearance before birth[link]

'New Stig' appeared in 'The Ashes Special' which aired in Australia in September 2010 (before Stig's birth in December 2010), although it wasn't revealed to be the new Stig in the Australian coverage as it was in the English coverage (which aired during Series 16).^{[citation needed]}

The Stig's 'cousins'[link]

The Stig is also portrayed as having an extended family of cousins who appear in his place, reinforcing various comical stereotypes.

In the US Special in 2006, the show featured a portly American cousin nicknamed "Big Stig" with a relaxed driving style.^{[ep 13]} He raced the presenters' cars around the Moroso Motorsports Park track. "Big Stig" should not be confused with the white Stig of Top Gear America.

The Botswana Special featured the Stig's African cousin, with dark skin, wearing just Puma racing boots, a loincloth, white racing gloves and the iconic white helmet. He raced two of the presenters' chosen cars around an improvised rally track - Clarkson's Lancia Beta refused to start. According to the Special's DVD commentary, this cousin did have experience in Formula 1 racing.

In Series 12, episode 1, 'Rig Stig' made his debut, sporting a "sunburned" right sleeve and glove in reference to his supposed job as a lorry driver. He appeared powersliding a Team Oliver racing truck to show to the presenters that a lorry could drift.

There was another cousin in the Vietnam Special, although his scenes were not broadcast due to time constraints. He was nicknamed the Stig's Vietnamese/Communist cousin and wore a red uniform. The footage was however included in a later DVD release. Top Gear hired a local motorcycle stunt rider.^[60]

In Series 14, episode 2, the Stig's vegetarian cousin, nicknamed "Janet Stig Porter", appeared. He wore green overalls, Birkenstock sandals with socks and a solar-powered helmet. He drove the presenters' "Hammerhead iEagle Thrust" hybrid around the MIRA test circuit to see how long it would last, but eventually died from the car's diesel fumes.

In Series 15, episode 2, the Stig's German cousin, nicknamed "Herr Stig" and "Stiggy Ray Cyrus" (a parody of Billy Ray Cyrus), he was almost identical to the main Stig, wearing white overalls, the main difference being that he had a mullet haircut. He drove the presenters' cheap sports saloons around EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

In Series 18 episode 1, the Stig's Italian cousin was introduced whilst at Imola Circuit in a Lamborghini Aventador, McLaren MP4-12C and a Noble M600. He came out of a motor-home dressed in a suit followed by three girls, to set a lap time in a Ferrari 458 Italia.

In Series 18 episode 2, the Stig's Chinese cousin nicknamed "Attack Stig" made his dramatic arrival by karate kicking through a door at the local race track. While in appearance he looks the same as the normal Stig but unlike the original Stig who's quiet, the Chinese Stig is found to be highly violent and attacks anyone indiscriminately, using martial arts. His unruly behaviour caused problems not just for the presenters but also for the Top Gear filming crew, flag bearer and a nearby track marshal to which he even interrupted his timed lap of the Roewe 350 in order to attack him. His behavior was so bad that Clarkson remarked, "that's the worst Stig we've ever had".

The U.S. Top Gear, Top Gear Australia and Top Gear Russia also feature their own versions of The Stig.^[61][62] Additionally, when Top Gear Australia visited New Zealand (in series 3 episode 2), they introduced their Stig's Kiwi cousin, "The Stug".

Temporary Stigs[link]

In the Winter Olympics special, Top Gear used Dan Lang, a Swedish snowmobile champion, to jump a snowmobile.^[2]

In the USA Road Trip (aired 21 December 2010), Tiff Needell was brought in as an 'Emergency Stig' to train Danny Boyle on the track.^[63]

Other appearances[link]

In June 2008 Stig drove a passenger in a two-seat Formula One car at up to 178 mph (286 km/h) for three laps around the Silverstone Circuit in wet conditions, hours before the start of the 2008 British Grand Prix. The drive was the prize in a charity auction held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital where the winning bidder paid £35,000 for the privilege.^[26][27] Stig appeared at the October 2008 National Television Awards to accept Top Gear's third award for best factual programme, as the other presenters were ostensibly busy filming the new series.^[13][64] The Stig also appears at Top Gear Live events, such as the August 2010 Stunt Show at the Nürburgring in Germany, in which he is billed as the star of the show alongside the other stunt drivers and cars, with the other Top Gear presenters not playing a part.^[45] The Stig has also appeared outside Top Gear in Clarkson's motoring DVDs since 2005. He also appeared before the 2011 British Grand Prix whilst Clarkson and Hammond gave the camera crew a tour of the Top Gear studio.

In the 2011 X Games 17, The Stig can be seen walking in the background during one of Brian Deegan's interviews during Rallycross.

Cultural impact and merchandising[link]

The Scotsman described the Stig in 2008 as a "real-life James Bond able to tame the most powerful cars, while possessing all the mystique of Zorro"^[6] The Sunday Times in 2009 described the Stig as "not a man but an idea, possibly an extraterrestrial", speculating that, along the lines of the Spartacus mythology, that the more people were linked with the character, the stronger the mystery would become. It paid tribute for how long the show had actually kept the secret.^[2]

On the question of 'Who is the Stig?', it has been described variously by The Telegraph as one of the most popular internet search questions of 2009,^[41] by The Times in 2009 as one of the ten most-searched-for terms on the Ask.com internet search engine,^[11] and by the Sunday Times as most-asked question on the internet in 2008.^[2] In addition, the Sunday Times has stated that on-line and text-answering services rated it as one of the most popular questions of all time, along with the meaning of life.^[2]

With the BBC asserting that the anonymity of the Stig was a vital part of the show's appeal which was valued by the audience during their legal dispute with HarperCollins,^[44] an on-line poll by The Guardian asking the question "Do we need a new Stig?", returned 64% "Yes - his identity should always be a mystery", against 36% for "No - why the big fuss over a man in a helmet?".^[65]

After the High Court judgment allowing Ben Collins to publish his autobiography revealing himself as White Stig, The Guardian asserted that the question of the character's identity had "always been one of the modern age's greatest mysteries", and immediately posed the question, "if the Stig is dead, then who'll be the new Stig?", adding, "The whole beauty of the Stig is that we don't know who he is. He's just a jumpsuit and a helmet, the contents of which are eminently replaceable".^[66]

The Stig has been notionally 'spotted' in the wild in images collected for Google Street View. He was photographed by a Street View car standing on the side of the A82 road in Loch Ness, Scotland.^[67] He was also captured by a Street View tricycle in three locations within Legoland Windsor in Berkshire, including riding a go-kart and sitting on a camel.^[68] A Street View image taken from the A40 Westway of the Stig apparently standing in a window of the Top Gear office in BBC Television Centre in West London was reportedly just a cardboard cut-out.^{[68][69][70][71]}

The BBC has capitalised on the mystery behind the Stig by marketing "I AM THE STIG" T-Shirts and variants through the Top Gear shop.^[72][73] Other Stig merchandise has included bubble wash, pens, keyrings, soap on a rope, lunchbags and a "sonic toothbrush".^[74]

Through a partnership with Polyphony Digital, The Stig's helmet and overalls are available for purchase in the videogame Gran Turismo 5 and Forza Motorsport 4 as avatar items, which also feature the Top Gear Test Track.

Episode notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

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