‘Top Gear’s famous masked racing driver The Stig is speeding away from the BBC to join Channel Five.

Last month, the mysterious man in the helmet was revealed to be Ben Collins. The BBC fired him after a bitter court battle because he wanted to reveal his identity in his autobiography.

Now, Collins is set to make his debut on the new series of ‘Fifth Gear’, which begins on Friday 8 October.

Collins told The Guardian: "I'm delighted to be joining the ‘Fifth Gear’ team. "And I am looking forward to a new set of exciting challenges, apparently with and without the helmet."

Steve Gowans, the Channel 5 head of factual entertainment, added: "We're delighted to have Ben on board – it will be fascinating to see how he does in a head-to-head with Tiff and Jason Plato – the best drivers on TV."