I was The Stig
Way back in 2002 when Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman got the go ahead to revamp the BBC’s beloved Top Gear, they rented an airfield, mapped out a track and decided to enlist an anonymous racing driver that they’d call The Stig to drive cars, fast.
Some say he was named after the new boys at Clarkson and Wilman’s school. That he also sounds like a speedy Swede, rally driver Stig Blomqvist, didn’t hurt.
For the pilot episode Wilman called me to put on the now-famous suit, drive some ‘hot laps’ and instruct a celebrity as they learned their way around the track. That celebrity was David Ginola, and, because he’s worth it, they had a BMW M3 on hand for filming.
I switched off the traction control, took David out for a few laps and, not knowing the circuit myself, slid about a bit - okay, a lot - much to the horror of the assembled BBC health and safety people. We swapped seats and David did several more laps with a few pointers from me and then went out to be filmed.
Later I was handed a jet black race suit, gloves, boots and helmet and told not to speak to anyone as I entered the aircraft hangar studio. I then stood, arms folded in silence until someone shouted ‘cut’.
I don’t think anyone there knew if the pilot would get past BBC bosses, they certainly had no idea how massive the show would be globally, or what an icon The Stig would become.
He’s now the longest-serving star of Top Gear, outlasting punchy Clarkson and despite being killed off when Perry McCarthy outed himself, being reincarnated, then outed again as Ben Collins. And now I’ve done it as well. But I’m quite sure the Stig will survive that, too.
Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Auto Regalia