Furious fans call for Stig to be sacked
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British racing automobile driver Ben Collins, known as The Stig, was also drafted into Jack Daniels Racing for Bathurst. Source: PerthNow
The white The Stig. What colour should the next Stig be? / Supplied Source: Supplied
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ANGRY fans have demanded that Ben Collins be sacked after he was revealed as UK Top Gear’s The Stig.
Collins has been revealed as the motoring show’s secret test driver after a court blocked the BBC’s bid to keep his identity under wraps.
HarperCollins, which is publishing Collins’ autobiography, said it was disappointed the BBC had tried to suppress the book in the High Court.
But news.com.au readers sided with the broadcaster, with some responding with fury at the unmasking.
“I hope he will be sacked too,” Disappointed from Coffs Harbour said. “It was in the contract that he could not name himself. It takes a lot of the fun out of the show knowing who he is.”
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Aussie Born and Bred of Beaudesert, said: “This Stig might have won, but the fans have lost. I hope they sack him and replace him.”
Another comment said: “A whole part of the fun of The Stig was that he was this humanoid type anonymous astonishing driver, where they could play jokes and have fun with the character!
“Now that there is a face to the name, it is not as mysterious or fun anymore.”
But this user disagreed: “Why sack him? He hasn’t done anything wrong. Time for the BBC and others to ‘get on with life’ and just do the series.”
The broadcaster, which makes millions from selling the program around the world, wanted to keep The Stig’s identity secret and claimed it was a breach of contract for Collins to name himself publicly.
“The Top Gear audience has always made it clear that they enjoy the mystery surrounding the identity of the Stig and the BBC felt it important to do all it could to protect that anonymity,” a BBC spokesperson said.
“Today’s judgement does not prevent the BBC from pursuing this matter to trial and the BBC will not be deterred from protecting such information from attack no matter when or by whom it should arise.”
Top Gear director Andy Wilman posted in a blog on the UK Top Gear website stated he was “cross” about the court’s decision, and stated it’s wrong to have Collins outed.
“The whole point of the Stig is the mystique – the bizarre characteristics he has, the wonderment created about what he might think, feel, do or look like.
“Kids adore the conceit, and I believe adults, even though they know it’s a man in a suit (or is it?), gladly purchase into the whole conceit because they find it entertaining,” he wrote.
The original Stig, Perry McCarthy, was launched from an aircraft carrier during the 2003 series after his identity was revealed in his autobiography.
But Director of BBC Vision Janet Bennett stated there would still be a Stig next season.
“Viewers of Top Gear shouldn’t worry. The Stig lives on and will be back in the new year,” she said.
Collins is due to release his autobiography later this month.
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Submited at Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 9:00 pm on Television by fenny
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