The Full Monty Sheffield: Writers Simon Beaufoy and Alice Nutter protest outside premiere of Disney+ TV show

Instead, Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the original film, and Alice Nutter, with whom he co-wrote the Disney+ sequel for the small screen, staged a protest outside the screening at the Showroom Cinema yesterday, Monday, June 5.

They both belong to the Writers Guild of America (WGA), whose members have gone on strike for the first time in 15 years as they seek better pay and a greater share of the profits from streaming, along with minimum staffing numbers and a guaranteed number of weeks of employment per season.

Simon and Alice skipped the red carpet outside The Leadmill before staging a two-person picket outside the Showroom Cinema as actors, reviewers and members of the public made their way in to watch the first two episodes of The Full Monty TV series, which will be available to stream on Disney+ from June 14.

It was a good natured protest, with neither of them attempting to stop anyone attending and both warmly greeting cast members as they headed into the cinema on Paternoster Row, across the road from Sheffield railway station. Alice branded a placard which stated: “We wrote this show but we can’t go. Fair deal for writers.”

Simon’s placard read: “The Full Monty. About people, for people, by people. No AI.” It was a reference to concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of the industry.

The cast were full of praise for Simon and Alice, with Mark Addy, who plays Dave, among those showing his support. He told The Star: “It’s (the script) just brilliant. He’s (Simon Beaufoy) one of the best writers around and he would be here this evening but of course the Writers Guild are on strike so they’re unable to support their own work, which is tragic for them. But without the writing, we’re nothing.”

Mark was back in Sheffield for the premiere along with the rest of the cast, including Robert Carlyle (Gaz), Lesley Sharp (Jean), Paul Barber (Horse) and newcomer Talitha Wing, who plays Gaz’s teenage daughter, Destiny. You can read The Star’s review of the show here.

The Full Monty is available to stream on Disney+ from June 14.