Hugo Speer: why Full Monty actor was dropped from Disney Plus reboot - ‘inappropriate’ allegations explained

Actor Hugo Speer has been dropping from the upcoming The Full Monty reboot by Disney+ following allegations of “inappropriate conduct”.

Speer had been set to reprise his role as Guy, 25 years on from the release of the original film, which followed a group of unemployed men in Sheffield who formed a striptease act.

Who is Hugo Speer?

Speer is an English actor and director who was born in Harrogate on 17 March 1968.

The 54-year-old studied acting at the Arts Educational Schools in London and began his career by starring in series’ like McCallum, The Bill, Heartbeat and in a small role in the film Bhaji on the Beach, directed by Gurinder Chadha.

His first notable role was that as Guy in the original Full Monty film in 1997. While Speer has appeared in a handful of films, such as Swing (1999), Deathwatch (2002), The Interpreter (2005), Late Bloomers (2011) and Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1 (2013), most of his acting career has been on television.

He has starred in shows like Men Behaving Badly, Hearts and Bones, Clocking Off, The Last Detective, The Rotters’ Club, Sorted, Silent Witness, Taggart, Skins, Death in Paradise, Midsomer Murders, Marcella and London Kills.

Most recently, he appeared in the 2021 Netflix fantasy series Shadow and Bone.

In 2010, he made his directing debut with the short film MAM which starred Josie Lawrence (Good Omens, Eastenders) and Speers’ Full Monty co-star Paul Barber.

Speer married Vivienne Harvey, a Glaswegian actress, writer and director, on 19 February 2015.

Why has he been dropped from the Full Monty reboot?

Speer has been sacked from the forthcoming Disney+ The Full Monty reboot series after allegations of “inappropriate conduct”.

The 53-year-old was due to reprise the role of Guy 25 years on from the release of the original film, which followed a group of unemployed men in Sheffield who form a striptease act.

A spokesperson for streaming service Disney+ said the decision to remove him from the show came following an internal investigation.

They said: “Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Hugo Speer on the set of a commissioned production.

“As is policy, an investigation was launched. Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his contract, with immediate effect.”

While Speer has not commented on the allegations or the move to drop him from The Full Monty reboot, the Times has reported that a spokesperson for the actor has said that he denies the claims and intends to challenge them.

The Full Monty series reboot was announced by Disney+ earlier this year in March, with the streaming service stating: “The limited series will follow the original band of brothers as they navigate the post-industrial city of Sheffield and society’s crumbling healthcare, education and employment sectors.

“The series will explore the brighter, sillier and more humane way forward where communal effort can still triumph over adversity.”

The eight episode programme will see the original leading cast reprising their roles once again, including:

• Robert Carlyle (The World is Not Enough, Trainspotting) as Gaz
• Mark Addy (A Knight’s Tale, Game of Thrones) as Dave
• Lesley Sharp (Before We Die, Scott & Bailey) as Jean
• Wim Snape (Gentleman Jack, The Beaker Girls) as Nathan
• Steve Huison (Coronation Street, The Royale Family) as Lomper
• Tom Wilkinson (Watership Down, Belgravia) as Gerald
• Paul Barber (Matchmakers, Casualty) as Horse

The show also brings back the original film’s Academy Award winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, who said of the series: “We’re chuffed to bits to get all the Monty Men back together again – now with a chaotic entourage of children, grandchildren, pets and assorted hangers-on – to see what life in Sheffield is like twenty-five years on.”