I'm 80 next year - I just want the roles to keep coming

Alison Steadman is finally getting back on her feet after a nasty fall in January left her wheelchair bound and needing surgery.

- SHELLEY SPADONI

The 79-year-old Gavin & Stacey star was at a poetry event in Dubai when she tripped on an uneven walkway at a restaurant and crashing to the ground. She broke a metatarsal bone in her foot, fractured her hand and had to put her career - and her life - temporarily on hold.

Speaking to us exclusively at the Comedy Women In Print Prize at London's Groucho Club, she says, “That fall was just terrible, shocking. It was an awful time. I’ve got to have another operation on my foot soon, to take the metal screws out of it, but I’ve just stopped using a stick a few days ago, which is great. I’m walking again and feeling good, hurrah!”

Alison’s illustrious career continues apace. Critically acclaimed sitcom Here We Go is returning for a festive special as well as a fourth series next year, and the actress couldn't be happier about reprising the role of matriarch Sue in the show about the chaotic life of the Jessop family.

“I’m truly delighted. I just love it, being part of that family,” she says. “I adore working with the likes of Jim Howick and Katherine Parkinson. It’s a great cast and the writing is superb. Without pin-sharp writing you’ve got nothing.”