Former Gladiators star Giant has opened up about the long-term impact of his steroid use.
The bodybuilder, whose name is Jamie Bigg, joined the BBC revival of Gladiators in 2024 and revealed in April this year that he wouldn’t be returning for the fourth series, claiming he’d been ‘axed’.
Weeks of headlines followed, as Jamie alleged that he had been dropped due to his girlfriend, Taylor Ryan, from whom he’s now split, being an OnlyFans creator.
In the aftermath, Jamie wrote on social media that he’s been doing some ‘soul-searching’ to be the ‘best version’ of himself, which has involved speaking candidly about his health.
Appearing on the Men’s Health podcast, Jamie, 40, revealed that he took steroids ‘for the best part of 10 years’ in his quest for a super buff physique.
‘Steroids basically make you infertile if you don’t do certain things, and I took steroids for the best part of 10 years,’ he began.
‘I just wondered, at 40 years old, “Where is my sperm count? Am I fertile?”
‘So, I had a check in January and zero. Absolutely nothing.
‘And that was definitely, 100%, down to steroid usage.’
Jamie then explained that he ‘went on a fertility protocol for three months’ and then had a retest of his sperm count.
‘And I got my sperm back. So hooray! 40 years old, and I’m fertile,’ he declared.
‘Regularly taking anabolic steroids can lead to physical and psychological changes in both men and women, as well as potentially dangerous medical conditions,’ says the NHS.
They list infertility as a possible physical effect for men.
Steroid use can lead to sharp drops in sperm count, or sperm production can stop entirely. It can also cause shrunken testicles.
For many, fertility returns after stopping the drugs, but it can take several months, sometimes a year, for things to return to normal.
