Return of The Real Full Monty on ITV

Published: Wed 24 Jan 2018

[above image from last year]

Return of The Real Full Monty on ITV

One of the biggest and boldest TV hits of last year, which saw a group of celebrity men bare all to the delight of millions of ITV viewers, is coming back for a brand new full frontal extravaganza.

In the Real Full Monty, the troupe's balls out commitment to raising awareness of men's cancers in which famous names including Alexander Armstrong, Ashley Banjo, Harry Judd, Matthew Wolfenden, Wayne Sleep and Elliot Wright performed the iconic strip tease from 1990s cinema classic The Full Monty, thrilled theatre audiences in Sheffield and at the London Palladium and produced some unforgettable TV moments.

Now, ITV is announcing its return in 2018, which will see a fresh set of stars learn a new super-sized version of the sexy routine from scratch before stripping fully nude for the nation in a brand new 1x90 show, produced by Spun Gold Television.

Once again, Alexander Armstrong and Ashley Banjo and will lead this ITV special. Dance supremo Ashley will marshal the band of famous novices through their moves, whipping them into shape to perform a frenzy-inducing striptease. Offering inspirational support and guidance will be Alexander, who famously kicked off the lead in to last year's show by having his own testicles checked by Dr Chris Steele live on ITV's This Morning show, to demonstrate to men the importance of overcoming inhibitions to make sure vital, regular health monitoring is done.

The aim of this year's programme will be to build on the impact of last year's show and keep these key health messages at the forefront of the nation's minds. Regular checks for testicular and prostate cancer are vital. If caught early enough, prostate cancer is nearly 100 per cent curable. But, the consequences can be grave if men are not aware of the problem or ignore symptoms, with prostate cancer killing one man an hour.

The original inspiration for the show was the 20th anniversary of cinema sensation the Full Monty, which sent the nation into a spin with the story of a group of unemployed miners stripping off to beat the dole queue. And when The Real Full Monty's six famous men got their kit off to replicate the film's iconic climax, the impact on men was immediate and significant with the upsurge in demand for more information about men's cancers leading to viewers crashing the Prostate Cancer UK website [https://prostatecanceruk.org/].

Alexander Armstrong said: Last year's show was a major success, particularly given it was unknown territory. But now we want to see if we can aim for an even better performance to grab people's attention again for this cause. Hopefully, we're in for even more fun as we take another bunch of blokes and turn them into show stoppers capable of turning the audience into a frenzy.

Ashley Banjo said: After the amazing time we had last year, I can't wait to get the chance to teach the 2018 intake how to forget their inhibitions and put on an unforgettable show to raise awareness for this incredibly important issue that really can save lives.

The Real Full Monty is commissioned for ITV by Kate Teckman, Factual Commissioner and Sue Murphy, Head of Factual Entertainment.

Kate/Sue said: It takes balls to bare all in front of an audience and the cameras - particularly when you have a tough act to follow. After last year's sensational show, the men signing up for the Real Full Monty 2018 will be aiming to go even bigger this time around. We can't wait to follow them from their tentative first rehearsal through to their final, full frontal strip and salute their willingness to draw attention to such a worthwhile cause.

For Spun Gold Television the Executive Producer is Kevin Mundye and Director is Will Yapp.

Spun Gold's Executive Producer, Kevin Mundye, said: The Real Full Monty is returning and we're going to have quite a ride turning our shy celebs into show-stoppers. Last year's boys blew the viewers away, but this year Ashley and Alexander will be pushing the newbies to pack an even bigger punch when they hit the stage and our show will capture each step of the way.

LINK:	https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/return-real-full-monty-...
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