When the first notes of "You Sexy Thing" hit the airwaves back in 1997, nobody expected a movie about six unemployed steelworkers from Sheffield to become a global juggernaut. It was lightning in a bottle. Now, decades later, the gang is back. But if you’re heading into The Full Monty TV series expecting a middle-aged striptease or a lighthearted romp through nostalgia, you're going to be surprised. Honestly, you might even be a bit shocked.
The 2023 follow-up, which landed on Hulu and Disney+, isn't really about baring it all on stage. It’s about baring the reality of a country that feels like it's falling apart at the seams.
Why the stripping took a backseat
Let’s get the elephant out of the room: they don’t strip. Not really.
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There’s a quick, chaotic moment toward the end where they sort of "do the move" to distract someone, but the G-strings are firmly in storage. This has rubbed some fans the wrong way. They wanted the fun. They wanted the "hot stuff." Instead, creator Simon Beaufoy—the same guy who wrote the original film and Slumdog Millionaire—decided to write a love letter to the broken systems of modern Britain.
It’s a bold move.
The series picks up 25 years later. Gaz (Robert Carlyle) is still a schemer, but now he’s an orderly at a hospital. Dave (Mark Addy) is a caretaker at a school where his wife, Jean (Lesley Sharp), is the headmistress. The power dynamic in their marriage has shifted, and it’s tense. You can feel the weight of two decades on their shoulders.
The show swaps the "will-they-or-won't-they" tension of the strip show for the "will-they-or-won't-they" survival of the working class.
The Sheffield you don't see on postcards
Sheffield is practically its own character. It isn't the shiny, revitalized version of the North that politicians like to talk about. The series films in real spots—places like Gleadless Valley, Meadowhall, and Parkwood Springs. It looks gray. It looks cold.
But it also looks real.
The plot doesn't follow one single line. It’s messy. Gaz is trying to connect with his estranged daughter, Destiny (played by a fantastic Talitha Wing), who’s inherited his "get rich quick" DNA but with a 2026-era desperation. One minute they’re kidnapping a famous dog from Britain’s Got Talent, and the next, Gaz is trying to find a way to buy his grandson an electric wheelchair because the state won't provide one.
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It's heartbreaking.
Then you have Horse (Paul Barber). If you loved Horse in the movie, his arc in this series will wreck you. He’s navigating the labyrinth of the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions), trying to prove he’s disabled enough to get benefits while he can barely walk. It’s a brutal look at how people fall through the cracks.
A shift in tone
The humor is still there, but it’s "gallows humor."
- Lomper and Dennis are married now, running a café called Big Baps.
- They’ve got a subplot involving a £70,000 racing pigeon.
- There’s a random Korean billionaire.
It sounds ridiculous because it is. But that’s the Sheffield way—laughing so you don’t cry.
Is it actually a "Full Monty" sequel?
Critics have been split. The Guardian called it "boring," while others praised its raw honesty. The truth is somewhere in the middle. It’s a drama that happens to feature characters we met in a comedy 25 years ago.
Is it a bit "preachy" sometimes? Yeah, probably. It tackles everything:
- The crumbling NHS.
- Refugee rights (through the new character Darren, played by Miles Jupp).
- The underfunding of public schools.
- Mental health and medication.
It's a lot to pack into eight episodes. Sometimes the "capers" (like the pigeon stuff) feel like they belong in a different show than the "tragedies" (like Horse’s storyline). But life is kinda like that, isn't it? One day you're dealing with a funeral, the next you're arguing about a sandwich.
What most people miss about Gaz
Gaz was always a "lad." In the movie, he was the hero because he wouldn't give up. In the series, you start to see the cost of that. He’s still acting like a teenager in his 50s, and it’s not always charming anymore. His son, Nathan (Wim Snape), is now a cop—the ultimate betrayal for a guy like Gaz—and their relationship is strained by Gaz's constant "schemes."
Carlyle plays him with this frantic, nervous energy. He knows he’s a dinosaur.
The show isn't trying to say "the good old days were better." It’s saying "the good old days were 25 years ago, and we’re still in the same hole."
Key cast members and where they are now
| Character | Actor | 1997 Status | 2023/2026 Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaz | Robert Carlyle | Unemployed Dad | Hospital Orderly / Grandpa |
| Dave | Mark Addy | Insecure Steelworker | School Caretaker |
| Jean | Lesley Sharp | Supportive Wife | Stressed Headmistress |
| Horse | Paul Barber | The "Dancer" | Struggling with Disability |
| Lomper | Steve Huison | Suicidal / Closeted | Happily Married Café Owner |
| Destiny | Talitha Wing | N/A | Gaz's delinquent, talented daughter |
What about Season 2?
As of early 2026, things are quiet. Robert Carlyle has said he’d love to come back. The fans want more. But Disney hasn't pulled the trigger on a second season yet. They’re "resting" the franchise, similar to how ITV "rested" the celebrity charity version of the show.
Honestly? The ending of the first season feels pretty final. It closes a major chapter on one of the original six, and it leaves the others in a place where you can imagine them just... carrying on.
Moving forward with the Monty gang
If you’re going to watch The Full Monty TV series, go in for the characters, not the gimmick.
Don't expect a dance routine. Expect a conversation about what it means to grow old in a city that the world forgot. If you want to dive deeper into the themes of the show, I’d suggest looking into the real-life "levelling up" policies in the North of England that the show critiques so heavily.
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Actionable next steps:
- Watch the original film first: It’s on Disney+ or Hulu. You need the emotional context of their 1997 triumph to feel the weight of their current struggles.
- Don't binge it: The tone shifts are jarring. Give yourself time between episodes to process the heavier Horse/Destiny storylines.
- Check out the soundtrack: It still slaps. From Grace Jones to Sleaford Mods, it captures the bridge between the old Sheffield and the new one perfectly.
The series is a reminder that while you can put your clothes back on, you can't ever really go back to who you were before the music stopped.