Ben Collins interview

Is it just me, or does he look a LOT like Rubens Barichello in that video? :shock:
 
I cant watch the video, can anyone post a summary about what he said?
 
I guess I'm a bit confused:

He says something about the possibility of being replaced as far back as a year or so ago being one of the reasons that he decided to quit...

Then why didn't he just wait till he was officially and properly gone before writing the book?

He also says another reason for leaving was to have the time to be with his family more...then talks about all the racing he's doing now..and how he plans to do better and greater things next year.

I know one of the big complaints that a lot of big time celebs have is not being able to go out in public with their families without being mobbed...but as the Stig, he could be a part of Top Gear...get to do all those great things...and still go out in public more or less without all the fuss.



And I admit to being a bit biased, but having the Stig suit in the background like that for the interview seemed tacky.
 
I guess I'm a bit confused:

He says something about the possibility of being replaced as far back as a year or so ago being one of the reasons that he decided to quit...

Then why didn't he just wait till he was officially and properly gone before writing the book?

He also says another reason for leaving was to have the time to be with his family more...then talks about all the racing he's doing now..and how he plans to do better and greater things next year.

I know one of the big complaints that a lot of big time celebs have is not being able to go out in public with their families without being mobbed...but as the Stig, he could be a part of Top Gear...get to do all those great things...and still go out in public more or less without all the fuss.



And I admit to being a bit biased, but having the Stig suit in the background like that for the interview seemed tacky.

^It's really a bit childish to be mad at the guy... That's really an emotion for the folks at the Beeb to be feeling. For the rest of us this will just be a blip that happened in the off season. You can't blame the guy for wanting to do better in life. The majority of people in this world would take advantage of a chance to improve their situation. Sometimes, even at the expense of others.
 
fuckin sun. if a murdoch company killed a baby, they'd still stick up for it.

see, this video confirms the purpose of the stig - cos racing drivers opinions are worthless.
 
Last edited:
^It's really a bit childish to be mad at the guy... That's really an emotion for the folks at the Beeb to be feeling. For the rest of us this will just be a blip that happened in the off season. You can't blame the guy for wanting to do better in life. The majority of people in this world would take advantage of a chance to improve their situation. Sometimes, even at the expense of others.

I'm not really mad at him...heck, I don't even really know him. And yes, I agree that most people want better in life and all that. But I guess it's the way he's done it that irks me....
 
Why cant he just wait till the replacememt of stig is settle before surface to the public? And then expecting to walk off as if it is not his fault after creating the mess and damaging the show? I am clearly not mad at him, more like being very disappointed at him, and the disappointment grow even bigger.
 
Taken with a grain of salt, the interview puts a different slant on the recent events (for me). He gives the impression that he had decided to leave Top Gear before the book release court case (and the Clarkson/Wilman reaction). He also gives the impression that he felt his position on the show was under threat (presumably following the stories last year that named him as The Stig). Under these circumstances, his actions would appear to be quite reasonable. This being his side of the story anyway. It would also appear that Clarkson/Wilman were probably aware that he was quitting before the blogs/court case/Witney TV interview. Which makes their reactions a little less easy for a human being to understand. Are they trying to rationalize mistakes that they have perhaps made in the past year? Should they have been a little more supportive of Collins .. and more reassuring about his job security? Certainly, the program gives the impression of support (the Schumacher unveiling) for the character .. but what about the person playing the character?

I think it is now time for Wilman and Clarkson to come clean with the truth and cut the corporate/intellectual property/"we've been back stabbed" bullshit ... or they are going to look more like they should be making The Dragons Den instead of Top Gear.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TC
I cant watch the video, can anyone post a summary about what he said?
If you are going to have a go at him for the book the least you could do is listen to his side of things.
I can't quite believe some people reactions on here, some people are acting like he destroyed there lives.
At the end of the day its only a TV show.
 
I have listened to his side of things. All I can say is my view of proper behavior does not include his actions. Nothing he said justified anything. He should have sat down and said 'Guys I am ready to leave the show and I want to write a book.'. The honorable way is to confront the problem and deal with it. If the BBC had said flat out 'no book ever' then you leave the show and release the book.

But unless everybody else is lying then they had no idea what was going on. I was soooo wanting to blame the publisher when I first heard this story. Whats-his-name had done a Bio ok. His company (nudge nudge wink wink) has done a lot of work for TG so he could have written about all of that. He could have left the actual being the Stig part out and still told almost the entire freaking story. So I thought it was the publisher that wanted to put the Stig stuff into it without Whats-his-face's approval. I wanted that to be the story.

It is not.

Disappointed. Not personally angry at the guy that would be a bit much. But someone I respected for their work has disgraced themselves and that is a big old bummer.
 
Disappointed. Not personally angry at the guy that would be a bit much. But someone I respected for their work has disgraced themselves and that is a big old bummer.

Probably best way to sum up my opinion on the matter, Collins did good work on TG and that'll never be taken from him. However he could and more importantly should have shown a bit more common sense in what he was going to do. When the show ends, people will mostly be remember him for being like the Black Stig, "the one who threw it all away to write a book."
 
"The Stig" is Top Gear's property.

Nobody else's.

He should have quit (or waited to be dumped) and then released the book. This leaves a very bitter taste.
 
What's more, not only he has caused a stir for the people who work on the show, but the fans too. As much as I want to see TG as the same after this debacle (which I probably will as I will forget about this by the time series 16 comes), there's a sense that something's wrong, but not wanting to admit that there is.
 
BBC/Top Gear didn't pay him enough to keep his mouth shut, so I have a really tough time feeling sorry for them. If your show's shtick revolves around anonymous character, you do whatever it takes to keep him happy enough to keep that "secret." If you make him feel like he might lose his job, pay him significantly less than the other characters, etc, then you run the risk of him leveraging his character's fame.
 
Last edited:
I'm not really mad at him...heck, I don't even really know him. And yes, I agree that most people want better in life and all that. But I guess it's the way he's done it that irks me....

Yes, what he did wasn't cool. It looks by his facial expressions that he feels genuinely upset over his course of action. I'd imagine that he now has four former friends that he knows he will likely never speak with on good terms again.
 
BBC/Top Gear didn't pay him enough to keep his mouth shut, so I have a really tough time feeling sorry for them. If your show's shtick revolves around anonymous character, you do whatever it takes to keep him happy enough to keep that "secret." If you make him feel like he might lose his job, pay him significantly less than the other characters, etc, then you run the risk of him leveraging his character's fame.
Aside from the money, something tells me the BBC/Top Gear probably weren't treating him the way he felt he should be treated. You don't walk out of a seemingly cushy gig and burn bridges like this unless that bridge was already crumbling or you just don't care. Clearly he cares, so there might be something to the former.
 
Top