'I'm lucky to be alive after I hurt my leg in agonising fall'

Star Alison on her recovery

- By Ed Gleave

ALISON Steadman says she feels lucky to be alive after a fall that left her seriously injured.

The Gavin & Stacey star, 78, tripped over while in Dubai in January, fracturing her foot and was left so badly injured that she was left struggling to walk.

Since then she has been dependent on a wheelchair to get around.

Alison said: “If I’d banged my head the way I banged my foot, I promise you, I would not be here. Every time I get fed up, I say that to myself. The important thing is that I’m alive.”

She praised medics who looked after her following the fall, including those who helped her get back to the UK.

The actress said: “Everyone was great. The ambulance that came...they gave me painkillers immediately and put a catheter in my hand.”

Defiant