Gavin and Stacey character still grieves for mum as Christmas special returns to screens

20 December 2019, 16:23

Alison Steadman opened up about her late mother and how she's still hurting, years on from her death.

Alison Steadman has revealed that she still mourns the passing of her mother, nearly 25 years on.

The Gavin And Stacey actress, who plays Pam Shipman in the sitcom and will revisit the role for the upcoming Christmas special, has opened up and told the On The Marie Curie Couch podcast that she cries for her mother "all the time".

Alison, 73, revealed: "She died quite a long time ago, however, I still carry the pain of that with me.

"I can deal with it but it still makes me incredibly sad. It was such a shock because although she was suddenly not very well, we all just assumed it could be something that could be put right.

"The actress said she was "assigned the job" of telling her mother that her cancer was terminal.

When we came home (from the hospital), I immediately lost my voice and started to cry," she continued.

"I pretended I needed the toilet quickly and I dashed upstairs and got myself together.

"My mum just looked at me and her first words were, 'Any hopes?' That phrase devastated me.

"Mum said to me, 'do you think I'll still be here by Christmas?' This was about the end of November. I said, 'of course you will, I've just bought you a new black skirt, a new jumper, a pair of slacks. Of course you'll be here.' It was my way of not being able to face it."

The festive period is understandably tough for the actress, with her mother Marjorie being cared for at the Marie Curie Hospice in Liverpool before she passed away.

Alison continued: "The older I get the more I seem to grieve, it's weird.

"I find it quite hard to talk about death and dying. It's something that we always think happens to other people but isn't going to happen to us.

"I still cry for my mum and my dad all the time."