Gavin and Stacey star was warned she’d be ‘lucky’ to work after 40

Alison Steadman made her professional stage debut in 1968 and has gone on to forge one of the most successful careers of a British TV star, having even been ranked in lists such as Channel 4’s 50 Greatest Actors, as voted for by others in the field.

However, now aged 78, the Gavin and Stacey icon was previously warned that her career might not last, having been told she’d be ‘lucky’ to continue working past 40.

Alison, also known for roles in Fat Friends, Pride and Prejudice, Dad’s Army, and Shirley Valentine, will return to screens later this year as Pam Shipman when Gavin and Stacey concludes with a hotly anticipated Christmas special.

She joins on-screen husband Larry Lamb, plus creators James Corden and Ruth Jones, as the BBC comedy bids goodbye to the iconic characters, 17 years on from their debut.

In the lead-up to the special airing, Alison reflected on her stellar career – but admitted she thought it would be over by now.

‘It was always, “Darling, if you can get beyond 40, you’re lucky”,’ she recalled to The Times.

‘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 with a cackle.

Alison also spoke about her popularity and how her schedule can be overwhelming, as she was recently told off by her sons for stressing about fitting Gavin and Stacey filming around the third season of Here We Go.

‘But I don’t want not to work. That’s our job,’ she insisted.

Alison added that, as she gets older, learning lines can be tricky.

This contributed to her bowing out of stage performances 10 years ago after a bout of anxiety about performing for a crowd.

‘You just get to an age where you think, “I can’t handle it. I’m not enjoying it anymore.” It was very sad and occasionally it still makes me sad, but that’s life.’

Despite a few understandable grumbles about ageing, Alison proudly acknowledges that it is a privilege.

‘And as we get older, we get more confident. I used to be so nervous, I’d get myself in terrible states,’ she recalled.

‘When I was 17, I went to a black-tie type dinner, and I was terrified of picking up the wrong fork or drinking at the wrong time,’ Alison remembered, imitating how she would hunch up her shoulders and dart her eyes around, noting it was ‘ridiculous’.

‘Now if I’m at a posh do, I do what I want, I drink what I want. If I want to put a fork in something like this then I will.’

Ahead of reprising her role as everyone’s favourite fake vegetarian, Alison shared that the cast are all still incredibly close after all this time.

The actress, who stars as the mother of Mathew Horne’s Gavin, revealed they’re all in a WhatsApp group chat, which is ‘nice’.

‘It’s a wonderful series. It’s so nice that it’s so popular. I feel very privileged and very lucky to have been given that chance,’ she stated.

The build-up to the finale has been engulfed by speculation of how the story will end, especially after the 2019 Christmas episode ended on such a cliffhanger when Nessa proposed to Smithy.

One thing’s for certain, though, and it’s that tissues will be needed, whether they be for tears of sadness or laughter, as even Rob Brydon was left weeping when he read the script.

The Welsh actor, who plays eccentric Uncle Bryn, previously told Chris Evans’s Breakfast Show: ‘It was a couple of months before the cast saw the script. I only saw it, we were on holiday, we were away, about a month ago.

‘I read it. Oh, it’s so good.

‘Do you know what? I was moved to tears, because it’s emotional,’ he added.