Alison Steadman on the final Gavin & Stacey: ‘People say to me in the street: “Can’t wait for Christmas Day!”’

The actor on her formative years in Liverpool, her relationship with Mike Leigh – and why she was born to play Pamela in the much-loved TV comedy

Alison Steadman was born in Liverpool in 1946, where she went to a state grammar school and, as a teenager, sneaked off at lunchtimes to see the Beatles at the Cavern Club. She made her stage debut at 22 and went on to establish her name in television dramas such as her former husband Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May and Abigail’s Party, The Singing Detective, Pride and Prejudice, Fat Friends and Gavin & Stacey, which returns in December for a final Christmas special. She has appeared in numerous films including A Private Function, Shirley Valentine and Life Is Sweet and her stage roles have ranged from Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit to Mari in the National Theatre’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, for which she won an Olivier award. Her memoir, Out of Character, has just been published.

In your new memoir, there’s a contrast between the Alison Steadman who is more than happy quietly watching the birds in her garden at home in north London, and these larger-than-life women that emerge out of you almost – Beverly in Abigail’s Party, Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, or Pamela in Gavin & Stacey. Is that contrast ever unnerving?
I love watching my birds every day, watching their world, what they’re up to. But then, you know, we’ve just been filming the last-ever Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, and it’s honestly been the best fun ever. And for that, you’ve really got to leap in and be this character, not hold anything back. I love that balance between the two.

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