22 November 2023 , 09:04
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The Stig has made a huge career change after BBC Top Gear was axed after Freddie Flintoff's crash.
Race car driver Perry McCarthy, 62, who was the original iconic character between 2002-2003, has left the job behind and now works as a motivational and after-dinner speaker around the world. Despite being sworn to secrecy while on the show about the identity of The Stig, Perry now openly talks about his previous gig.
He has said that it is essential to be "motivated" when taking on such a high pressure role and he now tries to pass that encouragement onto others.
Perry McCarthy was the original StigTalking to the London Speaker Bureau, he said: "I'm an ex-formula-one racing-driver and I was the original Stig on BBC Top Gear. What I do now is talk about all my experiences as a racing driver, coming through the attitudes that are necessary and I provide those via, hopefully, an amusing speech, business speech or a motivational speech. With my career, believe me, you needed to be motivated."
After being a professional driver for a decade, competing in the Brazilian and Italian Grand Prix, Perry joined the BBC programme as the mysterious character. However, the show has now been taken off air following a horror crash involving former England cricketer Freddie Flintoff.
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Sharing his own opinion about the crash, Perry spoke on Radio 4 saying: "[The] thing in my mind is I've got no idea why they're now looking to cancel filming because they've had an accident. What they should be doing is actually learning from that and implementing some better safety procedures."
The BBC announced it would be pausing production of the show which is co-presented by Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinness and automotive journalist Chris Harris as well as Freddie Flintoff.
The BBC show has been 'rested' following Freddie Flintoff's crash (BBC/Lee Brimble)Freddie is said to have negotiated a £9million settlement with the corporation for two years' loss of earnings as a result of the crash. The dad-of-four is still recovering from the "life-altering significant" injuries and is reportedly preparing his return to TV to make a second series of Field of Dreams.
In a statement, the BBC said: "Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future. 'The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show's renaissance since 2019, and we're excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
"We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do. All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing."
Freddie has been seen in public a few times since the December 2022 crash. He made a gradual return to the public eye and it was announced Freddie has been appointed as head coach of the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.