Radio Times: Review by:; Jack Seale

It’s a fine festive tradition: slobbing back and watching nut-crackingly tough men pull trucks, lift weights and haul boulders to win a trophy. We’re in Los Angeles, where the first heat produces a world record in the giant dumbbell press, an event that involves raising the equivalent of a heavyish human above your head. Repeatedly. With one arm.

British interest comes from Harrogate’s strongest man, Jack McIntosh, but he’s an outside bet: at 24 he’s up against perhaps the greatest strongman of all time, Lithuanian walking wardrobe Zydrunas Savickas.

About this programme

James Richardson presents action from the first of five qualifying heats in Los Angeles, California, where the top two competitors from this group will progress to the final. Great Britain's Jack McIntosh features alongside two-time champion Zydrunas Savickas in events such as the giant dumbbell press and the car deadlift. With commentary by Paul Dickenson and Colin JL Bryce, and interviews by Bill Kazmaier.