{"id":548486,"date":"2026-04-24T15:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T15:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548486\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T15:29:10","slug":"gladiators-star-giant-quits-bbc-show-in-cryptic-instagram-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548486\/","title":{"rendered":"Gladiators star Giant quits BBC show in cryptic Instagram post"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gladiators<\/a> star Giant has cryptically revealed he has left the BBC<\/a> series after being faced with a choice that \u201cdid not align\u201d with his values.<\/p>\n

The former professional bodybuilder and firefighter, real name James Bigg, has been a regular fixture on the show since the reboot premiered in 2024<\/a>. But ahead of series four, he stepped away, suggesting he was forced into making the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my Gladiator family. I want to tell you all that I won’t be coming back for season four of the TV show,\u201d he wrote on Instagram, adding: \u201cBeing a Gladiator has been one of the greatest honours of my life\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"GiantGiant \u2013 real name Jamie Bigg \u2013 has left \u2018Gladiators\u2019 for cryptic reasons (BBC)<\/p>\n

Bigg continued: \u201cStepping into that arena, hearing the crowd, representing strength, resilience and being a role model\u2026 that\u2019s something I\u2019ll carry with me forever. What I do want to make clear is this wasn\u2019t a decision I made to step away.\u201d <\/p>\n

According to Giant, he was \u201cfaced with a choice that didn’t align with my values\u201d. He wrote: \u201cAnd if you know me, you know this\u2026 I stand by my people and I stand by what I believe in. That’s what being a role model means to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bigg finished his statement by saying: \u201cI\u2019m proud of everything I gave to the show and grateful for every single person who supported me along the way. This isn’t the end. It\u2019s just the beginning. Stay strong. Stand tall.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment, but a spokesperson for the show thanked Bigg \u201cfor everything he has contributed to the show\u201d, adding that they \u201cwish him well for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe former professional bodybuilder and firefighter has been a regular fixture on the show since the reboot premiered in 2024 (Instagram)<\/p>\n

Gladiators\u2019 official Instagram page confirmed the news with a post honouring the performer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter an incredible run, Giant\u2019s journey on Gladiators has come to an end, but what an adventure it has been. As well as being a towering force when battling contenders, Giant has always inspired confidence and kindness in others, a winning combination proving he is a true giant, not just in strength, but also in spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bigg previously went by the name Jamie Christian-Johal, but he went back to using his birth name Bigg after divorcing his wife, Katie, in November 2025.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, original Gladiators star Lize van der Walt, best known as Gold, died aged 60<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The trained athlete, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, died on Sunday (19 April). Her death was announced by the show\u2019s official social media page, reading: \u201cWe\u2019re deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Gladiators\u2019 golden girl, Gold.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-548486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}