Top Gear racing driver dead after battle with motor neurone disease

Neil was a celebrated British race car driver

TV race star Neil Cunningham has died aged 52.

The professional driver, who appeared in Top Gear and was once rumoured to be The Stig himself, has died following a long battle with motor neurone disease.

After receiving his diagnosis back in 2011, Neil was forced to step out of the limelight and focus on his health.

The father-of-two performed numerous stunts for the long-running BBC series during his illustrious career, and once doubled as James Bond in a car chase for the film franchise.

Neil was rumoured to be the man behind The Stig

He performed dangerous stunts in a black Alfa Romeo during a car chase in the opening scenes of Quantam of Solace.

The talented driver also raced in Le Mans, Silverstone and numerous British GT Championships.

Read more: Matt and Chris Evans on why they don't worry about Top Gear

Shortly after he begun work on Top Gear, Neil first started feeling symptoms of his debilitating disease.

In 2013 interview, he spoke openly about his diagnoses - which he said he simply "couldn't believe" at first - and revealed his dismay at having to give up on the career he'd worked so hard for.

He said:“I didn’t want to believe it. Everything just came falling down. For years people envied my lifestyle and they all wished they had my life. No one wishes for it now.”

BBC

He look part in the BBC series during Jeremy Clarkson's reign as host

“I had to give up my racing career pretty quickly. It wasn’t just about me – I was racing cars that were worth millions of pounds and I don’t think people would have been happy if I had crashed them."

Everyday routine became a battle for the talented star, who said he realised something was horribly wrong when he was unable to perform the most basic of activities.

He said: “I found I started to lose the ability to do everyday things like wash my hair or even put my jeans on.”

Instead of letting his disease win, Neil went on to raise over £160,000 for in charitable donations to help support those battling the illness.

The tragic news comes just a week before the BBC is set to launch the new Chris Evans-fronted series of the much-loved driving show.