Actress Alison Steadman has spoken of her frustration after being confined to a wheelchair for eight weeks following a fall in Dubai. The 72-year-old star of Gavin & Stacey tripped while promoting her memoir at the Desert Stanzas event in January, fracturing her leg so badly that she has had to put her life on hold and turn down acting work.
In an exclusive interview, Steadman said: “I’ve been in a wheelchair for eight weeks. I am getting a bit frustrated. I want to get out and about more. But it means I can get around my flat. Otherwise I’d be in bed or sitting in a chair and I don’t want that.” The experience has given her insight into the challenges faced by disabled people, including difficulties accessing toilets and hotel rooms that are not wheelchair-friendly despite being advertised as such.
Steadman described the fall as terrifying, happening “in two seconds” and causing intense pain. She believes she narrowly avoided death, saying: “If I’d banged my head the way I banged my foot, I promise you, I would not be here.” She praised the medical staff in Dubai and the UK for their care, including the ambulance crew who administered painkillers immediately.
Despite her ordeal, Steadman attended the opening night of the musical Midnight Cowboy at Southwark Playhouse in London with her partner Michael Elwyn. Her recovery is expected to take months: after six weeks in a cast, she now wears a boot for six weeks, followed by crutches and then another operation to remove metal plates and screws from her foot. She remains positive, saying: “I’m being very well treated at the hospital… so I can’t complain.”
