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A Gavin and Stacey star has given a health update after a ‘shocking’ accident (Picture: BBC/ Toffee International Ltd./ Tom Jackson) Alison Steadman has revealed she is in the process of recovering from a ‘shocking’ fall that saw her end up in a wheelchair. Earlier this year the actress – best known for starring as Pam Shipman in the BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey – shared that she was ‘lucky to be alive’ after tripping on an uneven bit of pavement at a restaurant in Dubai. As a result of the fall, the 79-year-old fractured her leg and broke her hand. Now, six months on, Alison has explained how she’s been going in the aftermath of the accident. ‘That fall was just terrible, shocking – it was an awful time. I’ve got to have another operation on my foot soon, to take the metal screws out of it. ‘But I’ve finally just stopped using a stick, which is great – I am walking again, hurrah!,’ she told The Mirror. Alison Steadman is best known for starring as Pam Shipman in the BBC sitcom (Picture: BBC Picture Archives) Earlier this year she fractured her leg and broke her hand after falling on an uneven bit of pavement (Picture: TJR/ Backgrid) At the time of revealing the accident, Alison explained: ‘I knew when I fell that it was serious. The pain was so bad. ‘If I’d banged my head the way I banged my foot, I promise you, I would not be here. ‘Every time I get fed up, I say that to myself. The important thing is that I’m alive,’ she added when speaking to the Daily Star. Alison – who also starred as Mrs Bennet in the BBC’s 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries – also said that she’d been getting ‘a bit frustrated’ at the rate of her progress. After having a cast on her leg for six weeks, she then had to wear a boot for six weeks before then starting to walk again, but on crutches. She’d also been forced to turn down acting work while recovering. She had to take a break from acting while recovering (Picture: Toffee International Ltd/ Tom Jackson/ PA Wire) In July Alison announced she was retiring from theatre for good, a decision which had been prompted by a ‘terrible’ bout of stage fright more than a decade ago. The actress had begun working in theatre productions in the 1960s – appearing in shows including Abigail’s Party, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. She won an Olivier Award for her role in the latter. However, she’s now reassured fans she has no plans to give up acting for good, sharing: ‘No no no! As long as people keep writing stuff for me, I’ll do it. I’m 80 next year, can you believe it – but I still feel young at heart. And I’m just going to keep going.’ She is set to return to screens for the fourth season of the BBC sitcom Here We Go, in which she plays the Jessop family matriarch Sue. The actress previously spoke to The Times about once believing her career would have long been done. ‘It was always, “Darling, if you can get beyond 40, you’re lucky”,’ she previously shared. Alison has since said she is on the mend (Picture: Ian West/ PA Wire) ‘But the thing is, life doesn’t end at 40. We all keep living — well, not all of us, obviously — but that thinking comes from the days of when, unless you were gorgeous and glamorous, nobody wanted to know.’ ‘ ‘It’s all about men, isn’t it?’, she added. Reflecting on her role in Gavin and Stacey and whether she minds that might be the project she’s always best associated with, Alison said it ‘didn’t bother her at all’. ‘People continue to stop me in the street about it. I love that and always will. It made such an impact, you see – and people always talk to me about the joy that it’s brought into their lives. That means a lot. What more can you ask for?’ Gavin and Stacey is streaming on BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
