BARE NECESSITIES

Twenty-five years on, the Full Monty gang are back in an unmissable new series. Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy reveal all…

- TESS LAMACRAFT

Made on a shoestring budget, The Full Monty was a surprise movie smash in 1997, going on to bag an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and taking more than £250 million at the global box office.

The story about a group of unemployed Sheffield steelworkers who put on a striptease act to earn some much-needed money struck a chord with audiences around the world and now, nearly 26 years on, we catch up with the characters in a new Disney+ series.

Robert Carlyle, who starred as cash-strapped Gaz, and Mark Addy, who played his good mate Dave, are among the original cast members reprising their iconic roles for the eight-part sequel that follows the friends’ trials and tribulations as they navigate new jobs and grandchildren, plus the challenges of a crumbling healthcare and education system.

TV&Satellite Week caught up with Carlyle, 62, and Addy, 59, to hear more…

How was it being reunited after all this time?

Addy It was fantastic to see everyone. It’s great that there’s been such a long time since the film for all the characters to grow, change and take shape.
Carlyle I hadn’t seen any of the cast since the wrap on the movie. I’ve been living in Vancouver for the past 13 years, so it was lovely to be back working together again.

So, where do we find your characters 25 years on?