The plot came about after Beaufoy was refused permission to make a documentary on electricity pylon painters in Pembrokeshire, and converted the idea into fiction.

One summer, the pair and their loose gang of workers gain illicit, cash-in-hand employment painting the electricity pylons of the Yorkshire Moors.

This becomes more evident when Ray and Gerry leave Steve to walk back home after drinking at the bar, while the couple share a romantic moment frolicking naked under a wet cooling tower.

Meanwhile, Ray's friendship with an increasingly jealous Steve is also in trouble, and the younger man moves out of the flat, planning his own travels to India.

The film ends on an uncertain note, with Steve departing for India, a recovered Gerry deciding to return to Australia, and Ray left standing on the Moors contemplating his scant options.

"[6] David Stratton of Variety was less complimentary, writing that the film was not "in the same league" as The Full Monty, was predictable, and despite the efforts of the cast, suffered from "less attractive characters, and a rather dull plot.