Whatever vision Disney+ has for the revival of the 1997 comedy hit, it is apparently crucial to stress that main character Gaz has been wearing the same shirt for 25 years.
This could have caused some trouble when the team behind the series, Little Island Productions, couldn’t find an authentic set of Blades colours from the 1990s ahead of filming.
Thankfully, a lifelong supporter came to the rescue.
When the series debuts next year, Robert Carlyle will be wearing the Sheffield United shirt of Fred Wright, 67, from Gleadless Valley.
His niece, Lindsey Grayson, of Spotswood Close, told The Star how when she heard the crew was looking for the costume piece, she knew just who to call.
“When the team came knocking in Spotswood Close in February for location scouting, I had some banter with the production manager about him being a Barnsley fan,” said Lindsey, who says upping the Blades runs in the family.
“They were very hush-hush about it – they said they were filming ‘a revival series’ for ‘a 90s comedy set in Sheffield’. I thought maybe it was ‘When Saturday Comes’ with Sean Bean, until they told me it was about stripping.
“They told me they had actually just come from Bramall Lane because they were looking for a 90s Blades shirt for Robert Carlyle to wear on set, like he did in the film.
“I told them, ‘I know who’ll have one’, and took their number.”
Luckily for the production staff, Lindsey’s uncle Fred has every Blades shirt from his lifelong love of the team.
“He’s got all the shirts from across the years,” said Lindsey.
“I called him and asked if I could borrow his shirt, but I didn’t mention what for yet. 10 minutes later, he had it down from the loft and was washing it in the sink.”
Now, the iconic red-and-white shirt is in the hands of the production staff to give the shoot the genuine article.
Lindsey said: “A week later, Fred asked me what I did with his shirt, and I let the cat out the bag. He said, ‘are you joking?’
“I’ve asked if Rob will sign it before he gives it back.”
Already, the shirt is enjoying its minute in the limelight. Production photos taken in Manchester show Mr Carlyle in Fred’s shirt and a denim jacket.
It comes as Spotswood Close has been taken over by crews this week for on-location filming, including inside Gleadless Valley Parish church and one resident’s home.
“We actually used the shirt to play a prank on Rob,” location manager for Little Island Productions Alex Tridmas told The Star on set.
“We put the shirt in a drawer and said to him, ‘now Rob, this shirt’s on loan from a very nice man, don’t go losing it’.
“When he wasn’t in the room we moved the shirt to another drawer. When he came looking for it he went mad trying to find it, he thought he’d lost it already.”
The series will reunite The Full Monty cast 25 years after the Sheffield-based comedy became a Box Office smash hit.