Stig, unmasked
10:42 UK time, Thursday, 29 January 2009
Some say his Twitter feed has its own tinted helmet. All we know is that he's called Stig and he enters the Caption Competition. Well, that WAS all we knew...
Top Gear's mystery test driver The Stig has been allegedly unmasked as Ben Collins, a 33-year-old former racer from Bristol. Or Heikki Kovalainen, a Finn who apparently drove a Renault F1 car in 2004. Or Chris Goodwin, Julian Bailey, Terry Grant or Russ Swift. Or perhaps Dan Lang. Or maybe a man called Will. All depending on which newspaper you read.
But how about the Monitor's very own masked man? Since late 2004, a character known only as Stig - and, more recently, Stigmondo - has built up quite a following for his fast lap times and tight cornering in the Magazine's Caption Competition and now-defunct Lunchtime Bonus Question.
Some say his captions arrive at Television Centre in their very own limousine. And some say he and Top Gear's always-helmeted Stig are one and the same.
But now, inspired by The Stig, our Stig unmasks himself as...
Name: Richard Jenkinson
Age: 50
Occupation: "Director and co-owner of a financial research company, based in the City of London. Yes, it's been an interesting year, why do you ask?"
Relationship status: "Married (to Mrs Stig). And not to someone called Sue, as more than one letter to the Monitor has strangely alluded to. Caused me no end of steely looks over the dry toast, those. I have two children that now enter the caption competition, and are dangerously close to beating their father."
Why Stig? "It was given to me in the Army, but my room wasn't exactly regimentally uniform in its tidiness. So Stig of the Dump it was."
Favourite caption: "My for the air guitar."
What next? "Stig is to have his own version of being launched off the back of an aircraft carrier in a banger. He'll enjoy that. As for me, I have more than one identity on the Monitor, and the non-Stigmondo ones are proving quite successful."
Comment number 1.
At 29th Jan 2009, DaveySwavey wrote:Glad to read I'm not the only one who uses more than one alias on MM. Makes you wonder how the MM Olympics 2008 medals would have been distributed last year, if those of us with multiple-MM-identities had all our contributions correctly attributed. However, the lure of a medal isn't enough for me to merge my identities.
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Comment number 2.
At 29th Jan 2009, Ed Loach wrote:Now-defunct? I was hoping the LBQ was just on a long holiday. Stig unmasked and hopes shattered all in the same day - I might have to stop reading your RSS feed.
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Comment number 3.
At 29th Jan 2009, rogueslr wrote:Stig has also regularly contributed to another now-defunct, and sorely missed, MM competition, Punorama.
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Comment number 4.
At 29th Jan 2009, billnanson wrote:"Or Heikki Kovalainen, a Finn who apparently drove a Renault F1 car in 2004"
Would that be the same Heikki Kovalainen that has been partner to Lewis Hamilton this past season? Also Heikki is not as tall as the 'Stig' in the helmet next to Lewis...
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Comment number 5.
At 29th Jan 2009, Graphis wrote:Multiple aliases??? Oooh, the very cheek!! Bad form! Should be banned...
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Comment number 6.
At 29th Jan 2009, Candace9839 wrote:Hmmm, mutliple aliases. Is that like having multiple personalities? Do you all get along?
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Comment number 7.
At 29th Jan 2009, patio-phalangist wrote:In a controlled test, we asked our viewers if they could distiguish Lewis Hamilton from another leading unnamed brand
of racing driver. Nine out of ten viewers successfully proved they could........
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Comment number 8.
At 29th Jan 2009, teazeldad wrote:Innteresting. Now im just waiting for the Stig to be unmasked as Paper Monitor
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Comment number 9.
At 29th Jan 2009, patio-phalangist wrote:Top Gear; Lewis Hamilton's audition:
''....and at £500 cheaper than the earlier Stig models, but with all the same features
and gadgets, this is a serious must-have for any motoring-themed television show...''
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Comment number 10.
At 29th Jan 2009, hainba wrote:Nicole Scherzinger reveals Lewis Hamiltons Stig fetish....
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Comment number 11.
At 29th Jan 2009, fbxiii wrote:"The stig shows off his new Lewis Hamilton boxing action puppet". Oh sorry, all of this talk of captions, I just couldnt help myself!!!
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Comment number 12.
At 29th Jan 2009, Tony Doyle wrote:As a long time acquaintance of the Stig (we have our own secret sect), I never thought I'd see the day when he removed that shiny helmet.
Next he'll be telling you he was the "woman" with odd shoes featured in 10 things last year...
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Comment number 13.
At 29th Jan 2009, throbgusset wrote:He's Spartacus!
...or am I Spartacus?
Ahem ...one of us is Spartacus!
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Comment number 14.
At 29th Jan 2009, JudgePix wrote:Some say he carves his captions into a stone tablet and has them transported by B52 to Monitor Towers ... some say his LBQ keyring has a secret compartment that can only be activated by a sonic screwdriver ... all we know is, he's not as old as Bill Nighy, (allegedly).
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Comment number 15.
At 29th Jan 2009, throbgusset wrote:PS
I wonder if the "woman" with the odd shoes knows that there's another "woman" out there with an equally (if reversed) pair of odd shoes.
Hmmm? Makes you wonder......
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Comment number 16.
At 29th Jan 2009, JudgePix wrote:not to mention that Ascot hat ...
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Comment number 17.
At 29th Jan 2009, rogueslr wrote:All this and he still has time to model for the Moobs article.
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Comment number 18.
At 29th Jan 2009, sarahtrieste wrote:Personally I think Richard Jenkinson must be an alias as well. Who would ever have a name like that? Might just as well call himself "Toad of Toad Hall".
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Comment number 19.
At 29th Jan 2009, John Airey wrote:The real surprise is that Top Gear's Stig is actually a woman...
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Comment number 20.
At 29th Jan 2009, Helenepitpony wrote:No, he isn't the woman with the odd shoes, but he was standing near her in the group.
There, Stig, now we've both unmasked ourselves.
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Comment number 21.
At 29th Jan 2009, Kipson wrote:If he offers you a guaranteed genuine LBQ keyring for an outrageous price, call the Fraud Squad!
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Comment number 22.
At 29th Jan 2009, dennisjunior1 wrote:Congrats to the unmasking of STIG...
~Dennis Junior~
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Comment number 23.
At 29th Jan 2009, nickson1 wrote:What? The Stigs a Sugarbabe!!!
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Comment number 24.
At 30th Jan 2009, stigmondo wrote:In the words (and it probably works better verbally) of the great late departed Kenneth Williams: "Infamy, infamy, you've all got it in for me.."
Thank you for your comments (you're buying next time Simon), although I'm somewhat confused by the Sugerbabe's one.
And, to be super narcissistic for a moment, how chuffed I am that one of my remaining aliases (we've only got two now, Graphis, cut some slack, and no, they don't know what they are) managed a podium in today's Captions. Makes parting less sweet sorrow.
So,
Stig, adieu..
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Comment number 25.
At 4th Feb 2009, Starling wrote:I think nickson1 has been dreaming, Stig. Rude awakening and all that.
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