One of the stars of BBC's new Gladiators revival has admitted to taking steroids in an unearthed YouTube video.
The hit 90s and 00s show returned last week (13 January) with a revival from the BBC.
In case you’re not familiar with the format of Gladiators, it sees a series of brave contenders take on these super strong, athletic adults in physically-demanding challenges.
The synopsis for this revival series reads: “16 phenomenal Gladiators will compete in a series of brand new challenges alongside classic games against a brave set of contenders in the ultimate test of strength and speed in the most iconic sports entertainment gameshow returning to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.”
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Despite rave reviews, the family show has had somewhat of a rocky start following the revelation of damaging videos by The Sun.
Videos of Giant - whose real name is Jamie Christian-Johal - were discovered, showing the 38-year-old allegedly speaking about using steroids.
One video - which has now been removed - was reportedly titled, 'Take this and you will get big', and in another, Giant allegedly discusses how steroid abuse is rife in bodybuilding.
“I already had eight years training under my belt and I had already competed twice. And I got some phenomenal gains off that," he said.
He did, however, point out that training and nutrition have a large role to play, adding: “I know a lot of guys taking a lot of drugs and they are small and out of shape.”
Giant - an ex-professional bodybuilder - said he no longer uses the class C drugs after coming off them over a year ago in 2022.
In a statement, Giant told Ladbible: “I have always been open and transparent about my use of steroids whilst I was a professional bodybuilder.
“During that time, I spoke openly about the legal use of performance enhancements as a competitive bodybuilder and how to safely administer them.
“I stopped competing as a bodybuilder in October 2022 and responsibly came off steroids. I am no longer a professional bodybuilder and am no longer taking steroids and do not advocate the use of them.”
Speaking of the videos, the BBC said: “The Gladiators production team were robust with their no-drugs policy and drug testing was part of the process which all Gladiators agreed to and complied with.
“The results showed that they were not taking performance enhancing drugs.”
Anabolic steroids are prescription-only medicines that are sometimes taken without medical advice to increase muscle mass and performance.
The NHS explains that if used in this way, they can cause serious side effects and addiction.
In men, effects of anabolic steroids can include: reduced sperm count; infertility; shrunken testicles; erectile dysfunction; hair loss; breast development; increased risk of prostate cancer; severe acne and stomach pain.
Meanwhile, the drugs can also lead to heart attack or stroke; liver or kidney problems or failure; high blood pressure and blood clots.
Topics: News, TV and Film
Lucy Devine