Collins has appeared on the BBC television programme
Top Gear as himself, with his company providing drivers and driving services since December 2003. In Series 2 Episode 10, Collins appeared as one member of
BBC Top Gear-team in the 24-hour
Citroën 2CV racing event. The team finished thirteenth, out of thirty four cars, 24 laps behind the leaders, with Collins setting the fastest lap. In 2004, Collins made an appearance during the fourth series of
Top Gear, alongside
parachutist Tim Carter. The stunt involved Carter and an
aerial cameraman jumping out of a
Cessna light aircraft then landing in the
open-topped Mercedes car being driven at a speed by Collins. The open-top car was introduced as belonging to Collins and had earlier been used, driven by
The Stig, during a wig test in Series 3 Episode 5. In 2004, Collins featured in the second episode of series five, driving a
Lancer Evo VII and then a
Bowler Wildcat vehicle in a race against
mountain boarding world champion Tom Kirkman At the start of series six, Collins appeared with other
British Touring Car Championship racing and
stunt drivers for a
Five-a-side football game using a fleet of
Toyota Aygo cars. The sixth episode of series seventeen of
Top Gear featured a team of amputee soldiers training driving a
Bowler Wildcat and being trained by Collins to take part in the
Dakar Rally. Collins also appeared in the Top Gear Special, '50 Years of Bond Cars', on the set of
Skyfall. Collins, who worked as a stunt driver on the film was interviewed by
Richard Hammond. On a separate occasion, following an accident involving
Richard Hammond in September 2006, the
Health & Safety Executive report into the event recorded that Collins had "worked closely with
Top Gear as a high-performance driver and consultant" and had prepared a briefing for Richard Hammond preceding the event.
The Stig On 19 January 2009, British newspaper
The Daily Telegraph ran a story claiming that they had "outed" Collins as being one of the people behind the white-suit incarnation of
The Stig, at the same time noting that "Collins, from Bristol, has always denied being the Stig".
The Times, in a follow-up article, stated that the "identity of the white-suited Stig ... has been an
open secret within the motoring world for some years, with newspapers refraining from publishing his name, to uphold the spirit of the programme" which concluded that "a newspaper broke with the convention to out Mr Collins, 33, after following up a story in a Bristol newspaper". Similar allegations were repeated by
The Sunday Times during August 2010. Two Bristol-based local newspapers had published articles a week before
The Times in January 2009, on the basis of information leaked from a local art gallery. Collins had previously commissioned a
Clifton-based business in September 2008, to produce a limited-edition run of poster prints. The signed poster image showed a
salt flat scene, with The Stig positioned standing on it.
Autobiography publication During August to September 2010, the BBC started legal proceedings against Harper Collins, with the BBC attempting to obtain a
High Court injunction to prevent the publishing of a book entitled
The Man in The White Suit, apparently authored by Collins. The injunction was quashed by the High Court, allowing the possibility of the book being published on its intended release date of 16 September 2010 in the United Kingdom and 1 October 2010 in Australia. In an exclusive interview with
WitneyTV recorded on 3 September 2010 and broadcast on 7 September 2010,
Top Gear-presenter Jeremy Clarkson confirmed that Collins had worked as The Stig, and that Collins was "history as far as we're concerned, he's sacked". On 7/8 September 2010,
The Guardian and other papers re-reported Clarkson's assertions in the interview that Collins had been fired from his role on the television show. In the fifteenth series Christmas special,
Top Gear presenters referred to the Stig as "The Splitter" and publicly ridiculed the Stig, using the picture of the Stig for drive-by shooting targets. During Collins's appearance with the military amputees broadcast in July 2011, Collins was introduced and acknowledged by
Top Gear-presenter Richard Hammond as "ex-Stig ... Ben Collins". Though Hammond still referred to Collins as a "romantic novelist", he said that "to be honest, [he was] quite glad to see 'the old Splitter' back, and [he does] know how much giving these guys a hand means to him. So this is all right." In his appearance in the
Top Gear Special, '50 Years of Bond Cars', Collins was wearing a T-shirt on which was printed the words, "I AM THE STIG."
Richard Hammond, (who interviewed Collins) reacted, saying to him, "Nice T-shirt by the way." Collins admitted that he needs to "update that a bit", pointing to the word "AM", to which Hammond exclaimed, "Was." After hearing about some of what Collins had been doing for the film, Hammond remarked, "You should write a book."
Fifth Gear Collins joined the presenting staff of
Channel 5's
Fifth Gear in Series 18, participating in racing challenges on several occasions. He did not return to the cast for Series 19. ==Other work==