Michael Schumacher latest to be revealed as 'The Stig'

Michael Schumacher was unmasked as the BBC car programme Top Gear's mysterious 'The Stig' on tonight’s episode of the long-running show. The enigmatic white-overalled, gloved and helmeted figure, who for years has anonymously tested cars for the TV show, appeared on the floor of the British programme after breaking its test-track record at the wheel of the Ferrari FXX supercar.

Asked by host Jeremy Clarkson to take off his helmet, The Stig reluctantly obliged, revealing F1's now 40-year-old seven time world champion Schumacher. Clarkson jokingly asked the famous German what his name was before he became famous as The Stig, but Schumacher answered: "You have to have some secrets".

However, the true identity of The Stig was unmasked by the press earlier this year as 33-year-old Ben Collins, although the speculation was not confirmed by the BBC and it remains rumoured that the character is actually played by multiple drivers.

A spokesman for the British broadcaster, meanwhile, confirmed that Schumacher was The Stig for the Ferrari segment, but that otherwise the truth would remain "a mystery”.