Abby Brammell

By Richard Simpson And Paul Revoir

Secret's out: Ben Collins, photographed with children Issy and Scarlet near their West Country home, is thought to be Top Gear's The Stig


If Daddy turns out to be who everyone thinks he is, then it's only right that these two little girls are behind the wheel of a pair of toy cars.

Because, pictured with his daughters in the park, this is Ben Collins - the man named last week as The Stig, the mysterious stunt driver on Top Gear.

The identity of The Stig has always been a closely guarded secret, and the BBC is involved in a legal battle with publisher HarperCollins to stop it publishing a book which will finally name him.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Formula 3 driver Collins, 35, is writing an autobiography that is due to be launched in time for Christmas.

Yesterday he was in a park in Redland, Bristol, with his daughters Izzie, three, and Scarlett, 18 months, who were taking a spin in their Little Tike buggies.

Asked about the legal row, Collins - who Top Gear fans may like to know owns a brand new Audi A5 and a new Mercedes people carrier - said: 'I really can't talk about that. It's not an area I am allowed to talk about.'

One who was prepared to give their view, however, was Top Gear's executive producer Andy Wilman.

In a scathing attack on the show's website, he called publisher HarperCollins 'a bunch of chancers'.


Almost unmasked? The Stig poses with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise on a recent show of Top Gear


Criticising the publisher's claim that the BBC is 'wasting' licence fee cash in its legal efforts to block the release of the book, he wrote: 'The BBC has the right to spend money on protecting the intellectual property it created, because the truth is that all that stuff - the Stig, the Tardis, the Blue Peter dog - does belong to the licence payer, and not to some opportunists who think they can come along and take a slice when they feel like it.'

He said HarperCollins had put profits first, adding 'so if you get your Christmas ruined by one of the best and most harmless TV secrets being outed, you can rest easy in the knowledge that by contrast, HarperCollins' executives will be enjoying a fantastic Christmas'.

Mr Wilman also criticised The Stig for going into print, saying in reference to a confidentiality agreement in his contract that 'your word is supposed to mean something'.

The Stig, who was recently joined on the show by Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, is now facing the sack; BBC insiders say it will be 'incredibly difficult' for him to carry on in his current role.


source: dailymail