Hugo Speer is counting the cost after being fired from the TV sequel to The Full Monty after allegations of inappropriate behavior.
Speer, 53, who played Jay, aka “Lunchbox” in the 1997 British comedy about a group of unemployed men from Sheffield trying to make ends meet as strippers, was terminated from his contract by Disney+ during filming last summer after he reportedly He responded with a knock on the door of his trailer while he was naked and “pointed” at a runner inside.
He has always denied allegations of misconduct and after the incident last July, it can now be revealed that he has consulted attorneys with a view to suing Disney+.
I was told: Hugh felt what happened was unfair and discriminatory and wanted to sue them in an industrial court. However, after months of legal questioning, he decided to give up the fight.
He dropped it because Disney was throwing everything at it, and it was getting too expensive to keep going.
Mode: Hugo Speer in the movie
Hugo Speer attends the Press Night after party of The Curse of Wiener at the Park Theater on February 13, 2023
“His legal team thought he had a really good case, but in the end he took a hard look at what it was going to take to get it all the way and decided it wasn’t possible to continue.”
A runner in the film, who is in her 20s, reportedly said she knocked on Speer’s door and the actor answered without any clothes on, then motioned for her to enter.
Some reports claimed that Speer defended his actions by telling the producers: “All the actors are walking around their trailer naked.”
A source told The Sun that Speer’s sacking has ‘shaken the cast and crew’.
A Disney+ spokesperson said at the time: ‘We have become aware of allegations of inappropriate behavior by Hugo Speer on the commissioned production set.
As is policy, an investigation has been opened. Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his contract, with immediate effect.
A spokesperson for Speer responded, “He denies all allegations and will challenge them.”
Spear was previously on the BBC Hearts And Bones and Sky drama series Britannia. He also plays a detective in the series London Kills. The third and fourth series of the latter show were filmed concurrently in spring 2022, before the alleged incident took place and the fourth series will be shown on the BBC later this year.
All of the original stars of The Full Monty — Speer, Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Steve Huison and Leslie Sharp — have signed up to be on the Disney+ TV follow-up.
All of the original stars of The Full Monty — Speer, Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, and Leslie Sharp — plus screenwriter Simon Befoy and producer Uberto Pasolini have signed up for the Disney+ TV follow-up.
It was the highest-grossing 1997 film of all time in the UK until Titanic. The new eight-part TV series will show what happened to the characters 25 years later.
In an interview in 2020, Speer said the hit film changed his life, but not entirely for the better. There was ‘creepy’ interest from fans who wanted to catch him up close, and Speer remarked that if a man was doing that to a woman he would be caught.
A Spear spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
Joe is in awe of the big and proud new stars
Jo Brand admires the body positive movement, but says it’s too late for her.
“There’s a very different attitude to it now, and it’s kind of like it in a way, but I’m saddled with that ‘you shameful’ attitude that we had in my day. It was always the first thing people commented on.
I’m just used to those beats and handling, and that’s okay. But I just couldn’t bring myself in this day and age to wear what much older women wear with confidence. I don’t understand how they can do that, but I like it.
When asked on the Get It On podcast if she’d ever appear dressed as flamboyant singer-rapper Lizzo, she said, “If I were ever asked about praise songs, I would.”
The kings of rock? Well, my grandfather was the king…
Elvis’ granddaughter, Riley Keough, is easily the best thing on Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & The Six, which begins airing today.
Critics praised her “electric energy” and noted that she “carries herself with a rock-star arrogance worthy of her real-life pedigree” as fictional pop star Daisy Jones.
Keough wasn’t sure how well she’d handle the vocals on the show – with ’70s-style tunes written by artists including British star Marcus Mumford. I was like: “I don’t know if I can do that.” The actors spent six months rehearsing in order to convincingly pull off the performance scenes.
Riley has developed into a leading lady after more than a decade of acting – and she sings brilliantly. But she approached show business with caution. Before her mother and singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley passed away earlier this year, she said, “With acting, I had a feeling I was going to really enjoy.” I was called to an audition when I was 18 and I thought, “Well if you never try it, you’ll never know” and booked my first audition. If it hadn’t, I don’t know I would have continued.
Elvis’ granddaughter, Riley Keough, is the best thing about Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & The Six
Her status as Elvis’ granddaughter gave her pause for reflection — and she fretted over secret accusations of nepotism.
There was a sense of: ‘Okay, let’s see what you can do. I was sensitive to it. It made me really nervous. I was like, Should I go, ‘Sorry to be here’? That was my explanation.
For someone like my mother, when he puts out music, it was more difficult because there was a direct comparison. Even though my grandparents (Elvis and his wife Priscilla Presley) did act, that wasn’t their primary focus, so there was a layer of detachment there and generational separation as well.
“I am so grateful for all the wonderful benefits I was able to get because of this stuff as well.”
Lisa passed away at the age of 54, after suffering a heart attack in January. She struggled with substance abuse and was grieving for her son, Ben, who died by suicide in 2020.
The supervillain Leslie storms the castle
Leslie Manville takes on a fierce anti-type role as a fearsome villain in the new high-budget mega-espion series Citadel.
She plays British Ambassador Dahlia Archer with a suave but distinct menace – and Bodyguard stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the two elite spies caught in her network.
“She’s the villain of the story,” says showrunner David Weil, “but like all better villains, she’s the heroine of her own story.” So we needed an actor who could do both: be cool and stylish at the same time.
The show was created by the Russo brothers – behind the Avengers films – and is said to have grossed $250m (£210m) for seven episodes – $90m more than the initial budget.
Chilling: Leslie Manville as Dahlia Archer
The word is that Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, didn’t care what she saw at first. A new rewriting executive was brought in, and a new director handling the reshoots.
The Prime Video subsidiary, which made the most expensive TV show of all time The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, is praying it will be a hit when it airs in April.
It has been envisioned as a global TV series with a main show as well as spinoffs. It has so far screened spin-off companies in India and Italy.
Only my friends can call me sir!
Artist Grayson Perry is not like some gentlemen who insist on using their title at all times (Sir Ben Kingsley advances).
He is awarded a Knight Bachelor for Services to the Arts in the New Year’s Honors List, but only brands himself as “Sir Grayson” as a joke when chatting with friends.
“I find that if you have a knighthood, the more casual it is, the more fun it is to use,” said Perry, 62, who often appears in public as his female alter ego Claire.
You can’t use it in a formal situation or look like a ****r. Now I sign the emails of my best friend, Sir Grayson.
He briefly discussed whether to accept the honor. I reject things all the time. It’s the nature of success, Perry says.
But his daughter Flo encouraged him. ‘We asked our daughter and she said, ‘Don’t be sorry,’ said Berry’s wife, Philippa.
Artist Grayson Perry is not like some gentlemen who insist on using their title at all times
Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper novels teased one of the biggest global hits on Netflix last year, and in series two there will be a character particularly close to her heart.
Osman let slip that one of her young heroes would be just like her. She told Attitude magazine: “I’m an ace and arrow. These words mean little or no sexual attraction or little or no romantic attraction.
Netflix will hate me for spilling, but, yeah, asexuality will be discussed in a really big way. I’m excited. I hope to change the world. It’s a complicated thing to understand about yourself. People ask the wrong questions.
Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper novels sparked one of the biggest global hits on Netflix last year
Romcoms are never out of fashion, but after the success of Ticket To Paradise featuring romantic comedy queen Julia Roberts, the genre seems to be making a comeback.
Netflix has announced that it will be making Mother of the Bride with Brooke Shields, Benjamin Bratt, and Miranda Cosgrove.
Searchlight publishes a British response to Roberts’ 1999 romance Notting Hill in the form of Ray Lane. Set in Peckham, Rye Lane stars up-and-coming actor David Jonsson, who is found crying in a unisex toilet after a breakup.
Johnson was surprised by the text. He said my character Dom was good-looking in a weird way, and I remember thinking: ‘Well, that’s how you think people see me?’ David laughs.
“We’re both boys – albeit in different ways – and we both love our football, but it’s up to others to judge if ‘good-looking in a weird way’ is an accurate description.”
Rye Lane opens in cinemas March 17.
Choreographer and former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips turns 80 in May — but she says she’s like a “Duracell bunny.”
She’s definitely got a purple patch — a new production of Guys And Dolls, which she choreographed, opens today for previews, and she won an award for work on Grease earlier this year. “I’m like the Duracell bunny,” she says, “I just keep going!” I never want to stop dancing. it’s my life.’
Naturally, you will throw a big party. “Maybe I’ll turn it into a group thank you to all the people who helped make my life.”
