Actor Mark Addy was convinced iconic comedy The Full Monty, about a bunch of amateur strippers, would be a massive flop which no one outside of Yorkshire would watch

Mark Addy is amazed The Full Monty became an iconic film. The actor was convinced the comedy about a bunch of amateur strippers would be a massive flop.

To this day, he’s stunned by how much people adore it. Mark said: “At the time we were shooting the film, I thought, ‘This is probably not going to play outside Yorkshire… it’s got a very northern sense of humour, so I doubt it’ll travel’. “But I was wrong.”

The flick was a worldwide smash when it was released in 1997. It made £190million at the box office and bagged four Oscars nominations. Mark reckons it’s the down-to-Earth characters that made it a hit.

He added: “The Full Monty is about human life and human beings and that’s what audiences appreciate. It’s one thing to go and watch movies about special effects and fantasy worlds. But there’s something about seeing real people that everyone finds fascinating. That’s the kind of thing I enjoy working on.”

It’s been almost 30 years since The Full Monty hit cinemas, but Mark still gets asked about it almost every day. He said: “It’s remarkable that people still love it. It surprises me, but it’s still fresh in people’s memory.

“It gets repeated quite frequently. People tell me if they’re flicking through the channels and they see it, they’ll watch it to the end. It’s great to be part of a film that cheers people up a bit.”

The Full Monty is just one of a raft of hits Mark has had over the years. His glittering CV also includes Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey and A Knight’s Tale. He said: “I try to vary things. I do different genres.

“That’s always fascinating. You hope that people don’t get bored of you. There’s always a chance they’ll feel like they’ve seen enough of you!” Mark is on stage for his latest role The York-born actor is treading the boards in new musical The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London’s West End.

It’s a thrill for him to be in front of an audience rather than a camera. He said: “You can’t beat the stage. You’re in the same room as the audience. You have that immediate response. It’s electric. That’s the great thing about it.

“I’m doing an emotional show. But it’s so beautifully written that it’s easy to find the right emotions.”

Mark always has plenty of offers on the table but he isn’t sure what he’ll do next.

He said: “Doing this show takes its toll a bit. After I finish, I’m going to have a bit of a rest. I’ll have a bit of a break!” The show is running in London until April 18. Visit haroldfrymusical.com

The Race Across the World winners have been revealed after Wednesday evening’s final on BBC One. And the victorious mother and son duo of Caroline and Tom have now shared how they’ll spend their winnings

Caroline and Tom Bridge stormed to victory on Race Across The World.

The mother and son were the first pair to cross the finish line in Kanyakumari, India in tonight’s final — winning by just 19 minutes. They are amazed they managed to beat the three rival teams.

Caroline said: “It feels absolutely amazing. This race has meant so much. We’ve learnt so much we’ve enjoyed it and to actually win it as well as to have the experience is the best thing that could have happened to us.”

Tom added: “Doing the experience in itself is winning but to actually get to that book first and open it and to see that it was empty was something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Their victory has netted them a cool £20,000. But they aren’t planning to splash the cash on anything silly.

Tom said: “I don’t want to be stupid and waste it. Mum and I want to go backpacking again so some of it will be used for that.”

Caroline added: “Thomas is starting up a business and it’s been inspired by India and I’d like to help him with that.”

They will open up about the experience in a reunion episode, which will air next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.

To win they race the duo travelled thousands of miles through China, Nepal and India.

Caroline said: “My highlight was our experience with the elephants, because not only were we increasing our lead in the race and enjoying it a lot more and immersing ourselves in Indian culture, it was also a dream come true.”

Tom added: “Travelling around the world with my mum, seeing some of the coolest stuff that I never thought I’d see and speaking to locals.”

They are now urging viewers to apply for the next series.

Caroline said: “There are a lot of joyful moments. There are things at home that you might avoid talking about, to avoid conflict or confrontation, you face here, and you overcome it all, and it ends up being brilliant and there’s such an understanding between the teams.”

Tom added: “You get a lot more out of it than I expected. We’ve learnt a lot about each other, and for anyone to do that is so important. I’d recommend it to anyone.”