Released: 17th August 2026. Director Mike Leigh’s iconic tale of camping holidays and all the hazards involved. Their Morris packed to the gills, the punctilious Keith (Roger Sloman) and the more spontaneous Candice Marie (Alison Steadman) arrive at a Dorset campground for ten nights of idyllic bliss.
It starts off perfectly; it's peaceful, they go sightseeing, eat vegetarian food and go in search of raw milk. Then a fellow with a loud radio pitches his tent near theirs. Things get worse when a couple arrive on a motorcycle, make noisy love in their tent and start an illegal campfire.
Will Keith and Candice Marie find a peaceful corner or are they doomed to brawl with the noisy and unwashed?
First shown in BBC's legendary Play for Today strand in 1976, Nuts in May soon achieved cult status. It is now available on Blu-ray for the very first time, newly restored for its 50th anniversary.
Extras
Newly restored by the BBC in 4K and presented in High Definition
Mike Leigh Remembers… Nuts in May (2026, 14 mins): the director looks back on one of his most influential television plays
Director and cast Q&A (2021, audio, 43 mins): Mike Leigh, Alison Steadman, Roger Sloman, Anthony O’Donnell, Sheila Kelley and Stephen Bill are reunited on stage at BFI Southbank
BFI London Film Festival 2024 Screen Talk: Mike Leigh (2024, 59 mins): celebrating the 2024 release of his film Hard Truths, Leigh discusses his career with writer and journalist Amy Raphael
The Country Comes to Town (1933, 21 mins): a documentary made to help modernise the image of the farming and the British countryside
Spring Comes to England (1934, 16 mins): documentary on the journey produce makes from field to market – including Candice Marie’s favourite, mushrooms
Winter on the Farm (1941, 15 mins): a public information film on Upton Manor Farm in Dorset
The Chiffy Kids: Pot Luck (1976, 19 mins): the Children’s Film Foundation favourites take a holiday under canvas
Play Safe: Camping and Fishing (1978, 2 mins): a safety awareness film showing the dangers lurking in the countryside
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with essays on Nuts in May by Mike Leigh, John Wyver and Dr Adam Scovell and writing on the archive films by Ellen Cheshire and Vic Pratt
Key Selling points
50th anniversary edition
Newly restored by the BBC and released on Blu-ray for the first time
Hugely influential on British comedy films and TV, such as Sightseers, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and The League of Gentlemen
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