The Stig is a mysterious character from the British motoring show Top Gear, created by Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman. The character is known for always wearing a full racing suit and helmet, and never speaking, with the running joke being that nobody knows who or what is inside the suit. The Stig's main role is to set lap times for cars tested on the show and to instruct celebrity guests off-camera. There have been three main people who played The Stig over the years:
- The original "Black Stig" was Perry McCarthy, a British racing driver, who appeared in the show from 2002 to 2003. His identity was revealed in 2003, after which the character was "killed off" on the show.
- The "White Stig" role was then taken over by Ben Collins, a British racing driver and stunt driver, who wore the white racing suit from series 3 to series 15. Collins was revealed as The Stig in a court battle over his autobiography in 2010.
- The third and final Stig, revealed by Jeremy Clarkson in 2024, is Phil Keen, a British professional racing driver who wore the suit from 2010 to 2022.
Michael Schumacher, the famous Formula 1 driver, was humorously unmasked as The Stig for one episode. In summary, the identity of The Stig has changed with time, but the known drivers behind the character are Perry McCarthy, Ben Collins, and Phil Keen.
