Jamie Christian-Johal, best known as Giant from TV’s Gladiator, sported a gold leotard with his bulging biceps on show as he talked about the colossal character he will play in Jack and the Beanstalk at Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel.
He said: “First-time giant in panto but very fitting considering my current situation on Gladiators. I’m really happy about that because I know that will transfer over very well from the Gladiators fanbase to the theatre and hopefully ticket sales.”
The giant is former Derbyshire firefighter turned bodybuilder Jamie’s second panto character – he played the Beast in Beauty and the Beast in Wolverhampton in 2024. He said: “I still get to play a villain-esque character which I really enjoyed last time. This time I’ve got that level of experience where I think from the outset I can really lean into the character which I’m excited about.
"To begin with he’s a feared giant, maybe he’d lost himself along the way and became a grumpy old giant and we’ll see how he ends up – that’s the magic of the panto, you’ve got to leave a bit of secrecy in there.”
Jamie will leave his panto character at the stage door when the shows are over. Jamie said: "I’m a big friendly giant in life, for sure.”
A competitive bodybuilder until 2022, Jamie was crowned British Superheavyweight Champion in 2015.
The superfit dad of two teenagers lives with his family in Codnor where he tucks into six meals a day, taking on board 5,000 calories. He said: “There’s a lot of eggs, a lot of chicken, a lot of steak and potatoes and rice and some bread and bagels for carbohydrate.”
Jamie stands 6ft 5ins tall, tips the scales at 20st and keeps fit by weight training for up to 10 hours a week at the gym he owns in Ilkeston. He said: “The gym as an activity is going to help bone density, strengthen tendons and muscle tissue. I would see that as the most important factor in longevity. People associate longevity with cardiovascular health but without the strengths from weight training of the skeleton, your body is going to break down no matter how fit you are.”
His run in his second series of Gladiators this year was cut short when he damaged a tendon in his bicep during a live show and was forced to withdraw. Jamie said: “I tackled somebody and my arm was outstretched with a lot of force and the tendon decided it was too much.”
Fully recovered after an operation to reattach the tendon, Jamie is raring to get back in the arena and has signed up for several live Gladiators shows around the country later this year. But he won’t be doing the full run as some of the dates clash with panto rehearsals.
The big question is: Will Gladiators return to television for another series? Jamie, who is 39, said: "I think there’s more chance of a third series of Gladiators than not – highly likely, but not confirmed.
“Because of social media, we all have great profiles outside of the show and have definitely embodied the show’s morals and ethics and use our own social media to pioneer the voice of the show which is fitness in young people, healthy eating and getting them active and off their tablets and phones which is a great thing.
"I’m glad to be part of the show because I think for the very first time in years it’s brought back that family-orientated Saturday night sofa kind of television.”
Jamie was eight years old when he saw the original Gladiators series. He said: “It was Saturday night entertainment at its best, you had all the channels back to back that you’d sit in and watch with your family.” His favourite Gladiators back then were Hunter and Jet.
A towering presence as one of the tallest superhumans in the rebooted series, Jamie causes a reaction when people see him in the flesh for the first time. He said: “It depends what I’m wearing, if I’m wearing what I am wearing today, people are shocked! I always make a presence – people notice when I walk in the room, there’s a little less sunlight!”
Earlier in the interview, I asked Jamie whether Chesterfield’s panto giant eats journalists and little children. “Not little children, I’m too nice for that, but maybe the odd journalist,” he said, with a chuckle.
I fear that I may be next on the giant’s supper menu…
*Jack and the Beanstalk runs at the Winding Wheel Theatre from December 5, 2025 to January 4, 2026.