Life and career
Jamie Shaun Bigg was born on 27 August 1985 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. His surname was changed to Johal following his mother Tonia's marriage to Sarvjit Johal. [2] [3] Prior to working as a bodybuilder and an online fitness coach, he was a firefighter. [4] [5] During his bodybuilding prime, Johal was described as the tallest professional bodybuilder, earning the nickname "The Giant" for standing at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and weighing over 20 stone (280 lb; 130 kg). [1]
Johal used to eat around 10,000 calories a day to maintain his physique. [6] He runs Ilkeston Gym and Fitness. [7] [8] In January 2024, he began appearing as "Giant" on British TV endurance sports game show Gladiators . [9] [10] [11] [12] His strongest event on the show is Duel, in which he has so far beaten most of the contenders in just under 10 seconds, with the quickest takedown time of just 2 seconds – the fastest time of any Gladiator. [13] During his time on the show, Johal was criticised for previously promoting the use of anabolic steroids, despite them being Class C drugs. [14] In response, Johal said he stopped using steroids in around October 2022 and no longer advocates their use. [15]
In 2024 Johal appeared as Giant alongside fellow Gladiator Steel (Zack George) at Sheffield railway station, in which they surprised passengers by helping to carry their luggage on and off trains to promote the rebooted game show. [16]
It was announced in May 2024 that Johal would be making his pantomime debut in the 2024/25 season at Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton, starring in Beauty and the Beast from 30 November to 5 January. [17] His 2025/26 panto season is in Jack & the Beanstalk at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield.
In 2014, he married Katie Christian, and decided to double-barrel his surname. In December 2025, he confirmed that he and Christian were divorcing. He also said he would be reverting back to using his birth surname, Bigg. [2]
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