BRITAIN’S Got Talent recycled yet another act from the global franchise on Saturday night as strongman Tulga demonstrated his jaw-dropping ability to manhandle heavy objects.
The leather trouser-wearing beefcake, 37, spun a flame-covered 40kg beam around his body, before being suspended upside down with the heavy wooden beam dangling from his gritted teeth.
Gobsmacked judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams rewarded him with four yeses, sending him through to the next stage.
While the spectacle was impressive, it’s the latest example of the Got Talent merry-go-round enabling well-oiled acts to milk the platform around the world.
His act might have developed over the years, but fans still recognised Tulga from his time competing on five different Got Talent shows – including the American and World editions.
A week before Tulga’s audition was aired, American strongman JD Anderson aka The Iceman received a similar reaction when he crashed through thick sheets of ice.
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The burly world record-holder had already performed on America’s Got Talent in 2014.
Prior to that, escapologist Andrew Basso’s death-defying water tank stunt had the audience holding their breath.
But fans of the Italian version probably weren’t so worried. Andrew previously made the semi-finals of Italy’s Got Talent before withdrawing through injury.
Dancing dog act Amber and Nymeria came very close to winning a Got Talent series in 2020 when they finished as runners-up on the Dutch version of the show.
Previous series of the show have also featured globetrotting Got Talent fanatics.
In 2020 illusionist Christian Wedoy auditioned for his eighth Got talent, while magician Lioz Shem Tov and musician Hasan Minawi also had experience of the format.
Although there’s nothing in the rules preventing them from doing so, it does raise eyebrows over the show’s ethos of unearthing amateur talent.
