Book reveals The Stig's identity. Top Gear not happy.

Edrof

Edrof

Edrof

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I thought everyone knew who it was anyway?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11108795

The quote from Andy Wilman (TG Producer) is very cutting:

"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. HarperCollins have decided none of that is as important as their profits, 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."
 
The point is, it is harmless.

I also dislike how HarperCollins have gone on the offensive slamming Auntie for wasting taxpayers money in their legal action.
 
What a bunch of miserable so-and-sos.

It's more fun when we don't know who he is (even if a lot of people do) so why not just let it lie and let the mystery remain?
 
The Sunday Times revealed him as Ben Collins on the 22nd. :p

What the Beeb are trying to do is stop him from publishing his autobiography.
 
Well, it's going to make book sales brisk this Xmas at least.

I don't like top gear and find them quite unfunny. The Stig introductory jokes wear thin.

I don't really mind. Top Gear can make some spin off about it or think something else up.

It is a bit sad though that they've managed to somehow circumvent IP laws to enable to publication of this material. I would be curious to see the legal arguments surrounding this.
 
It will be interesting to see what his contract with the BBC is as well.

If the identity of The Stig is now fully out in the open, maybe they will get a new one if this allows them a get out clause.

It seems kind of silly after having gone to so much trouble to keep his identity hidden.
 
I had a feeling he'd done this behind their backs by the way they reported it on BBC breakfast the other morning :D
 
simulatorman said:
The Sunday Times revealed him as Ben Collins on the 22nd. :p

What the Beeb are trying to do is stop him from publishing his autobiography.
Click to expand...

The Beeb aren't trying to stop anyone publishing an autobiography, what they are by the sounds of it attempting to do, is to get someone to abide by the contract they signed willingly when taking on a job, which probably had a confidentiality agreement with regards to the Stig. (I say Beeb, I suspect it's the production company who own the rights to the Stig as a character, and employed the people who played the part, rather than the BBC proper).

If that were to stop someone talking about their job for a period of time in an autobiography then that would be it, but it wouldn't stop an autobiography that didn't breach the terms of the contract.
 
Nexus said:
It will be interesting to see what his contract with the BBC is as well.

If the identity of The Stig is now fully out in the open, maybe they will get a new one if this allows them a get out clause.

It seems kind of silly after having gone to so much trouble to keep his identity hidden.
Click to expand...

They could always kill him off again.
 
Yeah that's what I figured, if he's broken his contract and they feel it damages his identity too much, then maybe they will kill him off again. It was about the time that Perry McCarthy was revealed as the first one that he went.

I thought all this started to rise from the fact that the three presenters are making a lot of money, but the current Stig has been there a long time, is technically a star of the show, yet doesn't make the same kind of money or is able to cash in on who he is in the same way that they can do.

They've obviously gone to great lengths to protect his identity.
My parents recently spent an evening with Jeff Goldblum and he said The Stig never took his helmet off and so he never saw who he was.
 
The entire commercial success of the book probably hinges on it having the bit about The Stig in it as it makes the book go from a rather niche market to one that's got a lot more mass appeal.

Obviously if HarperCollins win, kerrching, lots of free advertising for them as well.
 
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