Alison Steadman has been left wheelchair-bound following a nasty fall in Dubai. Best known for her role as Pamela Shipman in the hit BBC series Gavin and Stacey, the 78-year-old was at the Desert Stanzas event when she tripped over what was described as an "uneven concrete walkway".
The acting legend has a hairline fracture in her right leg and a broken hand following the incident in the UAE. Alison, who is currently wearing a boot on her injured leg, plans to return to the UK for further medical evaluations at London's Whittington Hospital, reports the Mirror.
Describing her ordeal, Alison said: "The path was uneven and I went flying. At the hospital I had tablets for the pain. It's been terrible. I don't think I've broken my leg but I twisted it badly so there could be a hairline fracture."
Despite the mishap, she and husband Michael Elwyn enjoyed a nocturnal boat outing in a wheelchair. In the UAE for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to promote her book 'Out of Character,' Alison has recently released her memoir which, not surprisingly, includes insights on playing Pam in the beloved sitcom.
She originally crossed paths with creators Ruth Jones and James Corden on ITV's Fat Friends, with the pair later writing the character of Pam with her in mind. The cast ensemble, including on-screen hubby Larry Lamb, Joanna Page, and Mathew Horne, is a testament to the outstanding casting choices made by the show's creators
In the book, Alison wrote: "Casting is key to the success of theatre, television and film, and the casting director on Gavin And Stacey brought together an ensemble of actors that were a perfect fit for the characters that I'd read on the page. I can remember thinking on our first day together, this is the beginning of the best job ever."
She goes on to say that Joanna Page was "perfect" as Stacey and refers to Mathew as "my little prince", confident they would click as an onscreen couple. Alison fondly recalls: "There was magic in the air and we all felt it."
In her memoir, she recounted how she contributed to uniting the cast and crew during the initial series by organising social gatherings at the hotel bar, which quickly became known as 'Ali's Parlour'.
She said: "I found myself going into full event organiser mode at the end of each day in an attempt to bring us all together. And the bar very quickly was christened Ali's Parlour by the producer, Lindsay Hughes.
"Very soon, there would be no need to herd the troops, as people could be heard saying 'Ali's parlour' to each other, which became our recognised shorthand for an end of the day drink and get together.
"It was such a happy cast. Through the brilliance of the writing, everyone had their moment, and we could believe in all the characters leading full lives. Being able to have such confidence in the writing is so liberating as it allows you to be playful with your part within the scripts, with no need for improvisation at all."
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