FORMER Hollyoaks and Eastenders star Gary Lucy leads the cast of The Full Monty as one of the most popular British films ever made takes to the stage.

Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar-winning writer of the film, has gone all the way with a hilarious and heartfelt stage adaptation that has been getting standing ovations every night on its current UK tour.

Gary is no stranger to taking his clothes off on the small screen having starred in racy drama Footballers' Wives, but this is his first time on stage.

He said that the Full Monty was a great opportunity for his stage experience, adding: “It’s a really strong script.

“All the characters have stories to tell, and the audience really follows that through.

“It’s a really great cast too, we all get on well. It’s all guys together and we’re just having a laugh.”

Simon Beaufoy, was also a stage novice and says he was determined not just to create a carbon copy of the film for theatre.

His screen credits include The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire, as well as The Full Monty.

He said: “It was a steep learning curve for me and enormously invigorating to learn a whole new craft after 16-years writing for the cinema.

“I had to discover what works and what doesn’t. Ironically, it’s turned out that the story feels perfect on stage.

“It’s an ensemble piece about a group of men who are stuck and wondering what to do next.”

The UK Tour of The Full Monty is directed by Jack Ryder. His directing credits include national tours of Calendar Girls and the short film Act of Memory with Claire Skinner, Owen Teale and Anna Massey, which was officially selected for nine international festivals around the world including the Cannes Film Festival. As an actor, Jack is probably best known as Jamie Mitchell in EastEnders, a role he played for four years.

: The Full Monty is at Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre on September 21.