Olivia Williams plays a prison psychologist

Ahead of the screening, Cattaneo spoke of the unexpected global success of The Full Monty as a "two-year roller-coaster ride".

Offers

"After the kind of hangover from the party of celebrating Fully Monty, it did become this kind of uncomfortable feeling about what do you do next, but I've just sort of got used to it now."

He said he had received offers from the United States but "never really had a desire to work in America".

"The thing that appealed to me was doing a British film, but also one on a broader cinematic canvas."

He added: "I did want to make a film that wasn't just set on the streets in back-to-backs again, and the idea of a prison escape film just excited me because I could really get into the whole history of prison escape movies."

Great escape

In the film, James Nesbitt's character Jimmy Hands is banged up for a long stretch after a bungled bank job.

He and Rudy - played by Lennie James, who was also in Guy Ritchie's second film, Snatch - take advantage of a prison drama therapy unit show to re-enact the great escape.

But their escape plan becomes complicated when Nesbitt falls in love with a prison psychologist, played by Olivia Williams.

The script is by Ronan Bennett, with Stephen Fry providing the musical lyrics.

"It's not a kind of realist prison drama, but a movie, but it's very British, I hope, and that's what really excited me about Lucky Break."

Asked about the "second film syndrome", he acknowledged that comparison was "inevitable".

He added: "After the kind of hangover from the party of celebrating Fully Monty, it did become this kind of uncomfortable feeling about what do you do next, but I've just sort of got used to it now."