Now, if you thought The Full Monty was about a bunch of middle-aged men stripping for money, you’d be half right. That whole film told a story of Yorkshire spirit against a backdrop of a lot of social issues. The North and more specifically, Yorkshire communities were built on the collieries. Once Margaret Thatchers’ policies took hold, the North felt it all the more with pit closures. As a kid, I remember the miners’ strikes and the clashes with the police. Unemployment, the desire for a decent standard of living, brotherhood, pushing against the odds, friendships, sexuality and fatherhood – were all themes addressed in the film with a hint of comedy woven in. But that was then…

Fast forward to 2023 and Disney+ have taken us on a journey of what’s happened since. I had to go back to the original film to remember just how good it really was. It’s obviously a condensed comedy but it was original in its ability to weave in the politics with the laughs. The casting was lead by the divinely brilliant Robert Carlyle but the rest of the cast weren’t shabby neither. For Game of Thrones fans, you’ll know Mark ‘Robert Baratheon’ Addy – an incredible actor from the area. If you’re British, you will most likely know a lot of the great actors and actresses on the series.

It is really difficult to take a commercially successful film and turn it into a series in a post-lockdown world because everyone is a critic! But I really enjoyed it. The old magic of great script writing is consistent throughout every episode. The same issues persist and they are raised but with 8 episodes, there is room to explore more modern issues too.

• Male unemployment
• Divorce
• Parenting
• Men raising boys and being role models
• Sexual Abuse
• (Child) Male Suicide
• Loss of a baby
• Child poverty
• Cost of living crisis
• Funding for our schools
• How we treat out senior citizens and their loneliness
• Aspirations of our young people
• Female friendships
• Marriage breakdowns
• Disability
• LGBTQ communities

On paper it should be depressing but the comedy is still there. I laughed in places where I felt like I wasn’t supposed to. But this is my kind of comedy, the type that challenges how we live and raises questions after the laugh. The older cast is still solid but the younger members of the cast who are absolutely brilliant, modernise. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but the episode where the Jobcentre is held up, is everything. Comedy that raises a lot of issues but makes you laugh at the same time. There is something to say about the humour which gives me the impression that there was a group of writers who just “get” the North.

And can we give a round of applause to my birth town, the City of Seven Hills – SHEFFIELD!! For those of you that don’t know, as Brummie as I am, I was born there and as a family, we often travel up there to visit or relatives. I lived there when I studied Social Policy at the fantastic Sheffield Hallam University! Big up my COLLEGIATE Crew!! I looked for every landmark that I could on the show. It was nice to see my city and of course the home of the only Sheffield team worth mentioning BIG UP THE MIGHTY BLADES aka Sheffield United! I lived by that football ground when I first studied there!!

All in all, people will see a very different exploration of Northern life than they remembered to the film but The Full Monty the series is worth a watch. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Tricia xx