Simon Beaufoy

On Disney+, there's an eight-part TV comedy drama based on the heroes of the 1997 award-garlanded film The Full Monty, in which desperate Sheffield men turned strippers memorably disrobed to Donna Summer's Hot Stuff.

Again scripted by Simon Beaufoy (aided by Alice Nutter), the story is moved forward 26 years, "seven prime ministers and eight northern regenerations". Most of the gang are present, including Mark Addy and Lesley Sharp as Dave and Jean, Steve Huison as Lomper (now married to marvellously supercilious Dennis, played by Paul Clayton), Tom Wilkinson as Gerald and Paul Barber as "Horse", struggling on a mobility scooter. They're led by Robert Carlyle as Gaz, salt-of-the-earth grifter who first appears trying to get on a bus with a mattress.

Gaz has a wayward daughter and a disabled grandson. Elsewhere, personal problems abound (loss, sorrow, an affair), as do socioeconomic struggles exacerbated by the cruel welfare system. Social injustice is frequently crowbarred in (though one tragic storyline is concluded with jaw-dropping originality) and there are times when it feels like a glummer, aged-up Brassic. Nor is there any "full monty" striptease climax (not so much as a tweak of a dingy vest strap). Still, there are glimmers of the grit and sweetness of the film, and this is a cast with charm to burn.

The Full Monty review

Wacky plots, endlessly irritating characters and a distinct lack of stripping - this Disney+ series isn't a patch on the film.

The Full Monty review

Warning: contains no nudity! This TV sequel is a politically enraged portrait of a community fighting back under siege.

WGGB joins Global Day of Solidarity in support of WGA strike

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain will today join writers and other workers around the world for 'Screenwriters Everywhere', a global day of solidarity and action. The WGGB protest takes place in London's Leicester Square from 1-2pm. WGGB President Sandi Toksvig OBE and WGGB Chair Lisa Holdsworth will come together with fellow writers including Jack Thorne, Russell T Davies, Alice Nutter and Simon Beaufoy, Dennis Kelly and many more in a show of solidarity from the UK.

Bums away: The Full Monty is back - but without the nudity

No one wants to see the cast naked any more, so this TV follow-up shuns stripping for comic capers and cost-of-living tragedy. Even better, it actually gives plotlines to the female characters.

The Full Monty's striking writers picket Sheffield premiere of Disney+ reboot

Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the original Oscar-winning film, held a sign reading: "The Full Monty - about people, for people, by people. No AI." Alice Nutter's message referred to the premiere. "We love this show but we can't go - fair deal for writers," it said.

The Full Monty review

As a general overview, I won't delve into spoilers, but I'd definitely say it might not be what you think it is, and this for more than for the better.

The Full Monty creators on the return of their Sheffield strippers

The boys are back 25 years on from the original film, but no one gets naked and the women are more than just wives. Writers Simon Beaufoy and Alice Nutter talk about the new TV spin-off's place in an asset-stripped state.

Full Monty writer blames 'producer-less' production

The Full Monty writer Simon Beaufoy has hit out at the show's producer, claiming he did not come to the production or talk to the cast and crew ahead of the announcement that the play is closing early.