‘The Full Monty’ is back. A bit greyer, a little wobblier around the tummy, but no less charming than when its band of Sheffield strivers first dropped trou back in 1997‘s crowd-pleasing, box-office-monstering, Oscar-nominated musical comedy.
A new small-screen version has landed on Disney+ and has the gang back together and in a better place. Gone are the days of unemployed despair and queuing at job centres; instead, the once-jobless steelworkers have jacked in the bump n’ grind – this is not ‘No Undies For Old Men’ – and carved out happier lives with jobs and families. But there’s struggles too, with the cost of living crisis biting and benefits cuts making life tough.
One thing remains the same, though: the new version of ‘The Full Monty’ remains a loving celebration of life in Yorkshire – not just the steel city of Sheffield, the movie’s original setting, but other corners of the north of England.
Where was The Full Monty reboot filmed?
Sheffield remains the focal point of the show and most of the locations were filmed in the South Yorkshire city. Back on the call sheet was a return to Blake Street, Sheffield’s steepest and a key location in the 1997 movie. Scenes were also shot in Parkwood Springs, Meadowhall shopping centre, City Road and Gleadless Valley in the south of the city.
But it’s not just Sheffield that features: the production took in locations across the Pennines in Greater Manchester. Oldham’s The Greyhound pub features, as does Crompton Place Shopping Centre in Bolton, where filming took place in March 2022.
Who’s in the Disney+’s The Full Monty cast?
All the familiar, if now more careworn, faces are present and correct: Robert Carlyle reprises his role chaotic charmer Gaz, now working as a hospital porter; ‘Game of Thrones’ Mark Addy returns as Dave, a school caretaker these days; Lesley Sharp is back as Dave’s headteacher wife Jean; and Tom Wilkinson’s retiree Gerald and remains as grumpy as ever.
Paul Barber’s Barrington ‘Horse’ Mitchell is back and really struggling to stay afloat, bringing a chunk of the show’s pathos with him. Lomper (Steve Huison) and Dennis (Paul Clayton) are now married and battling to keep their café in business. Hugo Speer’s Guy – aka ‘The Lunchbox’ – is back and winning at life, though the character is a more occasional presence in the show after the actor was sacked for ‘inappropriate conduct’.
Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy is behind the script again, this time with co-writer Alice Nutter.
Joining the cast are Talitha Wing, as Gaz’s gifted daughter Destiny, and actor-comedian Miles Jupp.
How many episodes are there?
The show runs across eight episodes, all streaming on Disney+ now.