The Full Monty cast reunite for TV series
- The cast of 1997 film The Full Monty are reuniting to star in a follow-up series on Disney+
- Written by creator Simon Beaufoy, the eight-part series "sees what life in Sheffield is like 25 years on"
- Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Paul Barber and Lesley Sharp are amongst those reprising their roles
The cast of 1997 film The Full Monty are to reunite for an eight-part comedy drama on streaming service Disney+.
The original film focused on unemployed Sheffield steelworkers who turn to stripping to make money.
The new series, co-written by the movie's original writer, Simon Beaufoy, with Alice Nutter, will see the return of cast members including Robert Carlyle (Gaz), Tom Wilkinson (Gerald), Mark Addy (Dave), Hugo Speer (Guy), Paul Barber (Horse), Steve Huison (Lomper), Wim Snape (Nathan) and Lesley Sharp (Jean). They will appear alongside a new cast playing their children and grandchildren.
The hour-long episodes will follow the characters as they "navigate Sheffield and its crumbling healthcare, education and employment sectors, exploring the brighter, sillier and more humane way forward where communal effort can still triumph over adversity".
Simon Beaufoy comments: "We're chuffed to bits to get all the Monty Men back together again - now with a chaotic entourage of children, grandchildren, pets and assorted hangers-on - to see what life in Sheffield is like twenty-five years on."
Co-writer Nutter is perhaps best known as the female singer with band Chumbawumba, whose hit single Tubthumping and album Tubthumper were also released in 1997. Their tracks famously included sampled quotes from comedies including Rising Damp and Brassed Off. In recent years she has turned to playwriting and achieved a WGGB award nomination in 2011.
Production on the show begins today, with shooting planned to take place in Sheffield and Manchester. The film's original producer Uberto Pasolini acts as an executive producer, with Andrew Chaplin (Alma's Not Normal) and Catherine Morshead (No Offence) taking over from Peter Cattaneo as the directors.
Executive producer Lee Mason says: "Twenty-five years ago Simon introduced us to a group of funny, fearless and resilient unemployed working-class men from Sheffield and the world fell in love with them. We're therefore delighted to reunite the original cast for this brand-new series on Disney+, to catch up with these iconic characters."