The Full Monty Sheffield: Mark Addy describes 'beautiful' spot in Sheffield where he loved filming for TV show
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The actor, who is back as Dave Horsfall in the eight-part Disney+ television sequel to the hit 1997 film, said it was ‘always good to be in Sheffield’ and to be reunited with the original cast, including Robert Carlyle as Gaz, was ‘even better’.
Fellow cast member Steve Huison, who again plays Lomper, has spoken about how he was ‘astonished’ by the decline of Sheffield city centre when staying there during filming last year, and noted how poverty had ‘taken a grip in certain areas’. But Mark, whose roles since The Full Monty film include King Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones, told The Star how there was one magical location where he loved filming.
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Hide AdHe described how he had spent a week filming by night at Sheffield’s old Ski Village, which has sadly been closed since 2012 following a series of arson attacks, and the views over the city had been amazing.
“We shot some great scenes up at the top of the old dry ski slope overlooking the city,” he said. “We had a week of nights up there and you’re there watching the sun go down and the city light up and it’s actually quite beautiful.”
Mark also told how he had stayed in touch with a few of the cast over the years but the read-through for the series was the first time they had all been in the same room since they were doing publicity for the film. He revealed he hadn’t asked whether there would be any nudity this time around when he first learned of the TV reboot, though he admitted he probably should have, adding that ‘luckily there were no unpleasant surprises in that respect’.
The TV series sees Dave working as a caretaker at the fictional Sheffield Spires Academy, where his wife Jean (Lesley Sharp) is the headteacher, and striking up an unlikely friendship with a pupil called Twiglet, played by Aiden Cook.
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Hide AdMark paid tribute to writer Simon Beaufoy, who penned the film and teamed up with Alice Nutter for the series, calling him ‘one of the best writers around’.
He added: "I was delighted because Simon Beaufoy who wrote the film was writing the series as well so I knew he was going to look after these characters, he was going to write a series that was right for them, and he’s done a cracking job. He has the ability to balance pathos and humour, and even in the darkest of scenes, he’ll throw in something that’s ridiculously amusing. He does a great job of that and it’s a joy to perform his characters.”
The Full Monty is available to stream on Disney+ from June 14.