Sheffield's Shiregreen Club where The Full Monty was filmed hit by fire

The now derelict WMC on Shiregreen Lane was affected by a blaze at about 4pm on Friday, April 14. A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said crews from Elm Lane, Parkway and Barnsley station were at the scene for about an hour. They added no details were available as to the potential cause of the fire and they also did not have any information as to the extent of damage caused.

The club is where the cast of The Full Monty famously revealed all before a baying crowd in the hit 1997 film. The building later became a shrine for fans of the comedy, attracting sightseers from around the world. But the venue closed in 2018 and the future of the site remains up in the air.

An application to bulldoze it to make way for flats was rejected by Sheffield Council in 2020, after more than 1,000 people signed a petition to save the club, but this was described at the time as a temporary reprieve.

The owner Eyre Investments subsequently said it was happy to work with locals to create a community asset, and there were negotiations about converting the concert room into a youth centre and boxing gym, with the lounge becoming a sports bar.

Now the fight to save it has been given fresh impetus following the recent announcement that The Full Monty is returning as an eight-part TV series to air on Disney+ with the original cast and writer reuniting to update fans on what has happened to the gang since we saw them in all their glory 25 years ago.

The new series is being shot in Sheffield and Manchester, with filming already underway, and though there is little chance of Shiregreen Club featuring, it has helped highlight the plight of probably the film’s most famous setting.

Speaking to The Star last year, Ann Bentley, who ran the club with her husband Roy when The Full Monty was filmed, and launched the petition to save it from the wrecking ball, said the announcement had given her fresh hope.

At the time, she said: “I was absolutely thrilled when I heard they’re making a TV series. If the club can get back on its feet again that would be a dream come true, and this could be just what we needed to get things moving again.”

Disney says the Full Monty series will follow the original characters as they navigate the post-industrial city of Sheffield and society’s crumbling healthcare, education and employment sectors. It will explore the brighter, sillier and more humane way forward where communal effort can still triumph over adversity.