Actress Melissa Johns has shared what it was like working alongside Alison Steadman on the BBC drama Life, describing the experience as an "absolute dream come true".
The 2020 series follows four residents living in separate flats within a large Victorian house in Manchester, whose lives become increasingly intertwined. Alison stars as Gail Reynolds, a 70-year-old woman who begins to question her marriage, while Melissa plays Hannah Taylor, a pregnant woman whose life is complicated when the father of her unborn child returns to town.
A Dream Come True on Set
Having grown up watching Alison in Gavin & Stacey, Melissa said being cast alongside the acclaimed actress was an "absolute dream come true". She told the Daily Express: "I remember our chairs were next to each other in the hair and make-up truck and we got to spend so much time together. That was an absolute dream come true."
Recalling fond memories of her time working with the actress behind the scenes, Melissa continued: "I remember the first time she came on to the make-up truck, she was doing the robot that Smithy does in Gavin and Stacey. It didn't feel real!"
Energy That Inspired
The Grantchester star, 36, praised Alison for the energy she brought to set, revealing that it inspired how she now wants to approach her own work.
She recounted: "We had a really early start one morning and I remember thinking how shattered I was. And I see this woman step on the trailer who's in her 70s and has more energy in her little finger than I seem to have had in my whole body that day. And I was like, oh, my God, like, that's the way you do it. From that day, it really made me realise how you can light up someone's day from the moment you step on the trailer."
Melissa went on: "I remember thinking, that's the sort of person I want to be. I want to be able to be the person that makes other people smile like she made me smile that day. In filming, you're doing such long days and it's so easy to get bogged down with it all. And as actors, my gosh, we can moan, everything can be going perfectly and we'll still find something to moan about. But I think there's certain people that you work with where you see how lovely their energy is and that's the energy I'd love to have."
Hope for a Return
The cast of Life filmed the series in 2019 ahead of its release in 2020, the same year the UK went into lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With fans still hoping for the show to return, Melissa admitted she would love to reprise her role as Hannah.
"Life was so good! I would love to see what happens to those characters or what's happened to them," Melissa remarked. She added that the timing of the show's release likely affected its chances of returning, as the uncertainty made it a difficult time for broadcasters to commission new series.
"The timing was never right for Life because we filmed it in 2019 and it came out during COVID. That was a real shame for something to come out at such a bad time because everything was so uncertain," she explained. "People weren't really commissioning. People were anxious about the way the world was going. It was a really tough time for something to come out if you wanted a second version of it. I don't think that was just the only reason, but I think that probably would have played a big factor."
Melissa Johns is one of the UK's leading disability advocates and is represented by Champions Speakers Agency for speaking engagements.
