The Stig: BBC ‘hypocritical’

THE man sacked from his role as The Stig on Top Gear has accused the BBC of hypocrisy after he claimed they were the ones who first blew his identity.

Ben Collins revealed he began working on his memoir when he feared his stint as the anonymous driver was on the skids.

Breaking his silence after a BBC legal bid to block the book failed, he told The Sun the court battle was “ridiculous”.

The BBC tried to prevent publication of his autobiography, claiming it had a confidential arrangement with the 35-year-old driver.

Collins said the BBC “wanted to bully me out of contention”.

He said: “It is a travesty that a state-funded broadcaster gagged my free speech. It was hypocritical to suggest I’d done any more to reveal myself than they had.”

He said an arm of the BBC had been responsible for putting his name in the public arena two years ago in a feature speculating about The Stig’s identity in the Radio Times.

He said his name was listed as a potential candidate which led to him being recognised.