The Full Monty cast say Disney+ show is different to original film, say fans shouldn't expect a remake

The Full Monty cast members Wim Snape and Lesley Sharp spoke to Yahoo UK about Disney+'s revival and why it's not the same as the beloved film. The Full Monty is streaming on Disney+ from 14 June.

Video transcript

ROXY SIMONS: I wondered, how do you hope fans of the original might, you know, see this new series and, kind of, what it has to say?

WIM SNAPE: The original film, we had, you know, 90 minutes to really look at these characters. Now, we've got eight hours. So we can really get-- you know, delve deeper into where these people are now 25 years later, you know, with their-- they've got kids. They've got grandkids, some of them.

And all of these new Monties bring such a lovely, fresh light into the series, you know? Like, if people are tuning into to think that we're remaking the film, we're not, you know? We are transporting these guys 25 years on, and we're-- and we're looking at, socially and economically, where we are within society and how these characters navigate their way through that.

LESLEY SHARP: The film was 90 minutes-- a 90-minute snapshot of a particular moment. And it was about the lives of this particular group of men and how they were all affected by the collapse of the steel industry. What is great about what we've got now is we've got eight hours to dig into a whole community, not just us, all the characters and that central group of guys.

But there's some fantastic young characters coming in with their stories. What balances the writing, always, for Simon-- it did in the original, and I-- and I do think it does in the TV series too-- is that he's at pains to present a community that, whilst they might be struggling and not have as much as other areas of the UK, there is still a sense of warmth, community.

The film was uplifting, and I think that the television series, as well as digging into all of the things that we've mentioned, is also uplifting because it's a portrayal of really decent, hard-working people trying to make their lives work. And I think that Simon and Alice have trodden a really delicate, beautiful line between the two, presenting one which is really hard-edged, with no punches pulled, and the other really great humor, great wit, and warmth.