Alison Steadman was spotted at Heathrow Airport with a broken foot and wrist after suffering an accident that left her with broken bones.
The actress who is known for her role as Pam in Gavin & Stacey was at the Desert Stanzas event when she tripped on what she said was an uneven concrete, leaving her suffering significant injuries. The 78-year-old has a hairline fracture in her right leg and a broken hand.
Steadman said: “The path was uneven and I went flying. At the hospital I had tablets for the pain. It’s been terrible. I don’t think I’ve broken my leg but I twisted it badly so there could be a hairline fracture.” It was previously reported she was due to return to the UK for more medical tests at London’s Whittington Hospital.
She was in the UAE for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, where she was promoting her memoir, Out of Character.
Steadman was in good spirits while being pushed around in a wheelchair at the airport, with her wrists covered in bandages and her foot in a cast.
Speaking at the Festival of Literature, she shared: “There were beautiful seats laid out and a buffet.
“I went to get some pudding. I was walking along a concrete walkway that was not 100 per cent smooth.
“I tripped and it felt like I went up in the air about 5ft and then just crashed down on concrete.
“It was absolutely horrible. I landed on this foot and this hand and was in absolute agony.”
Steadman was left baffled after medics turned up and immediately asked if she’d fallen from a camel. “I said, ‘What camel? I didn’t fall off a camel!'”
The actress recently reprised her role as Pam Shipman, for the Gavin & Stacey Finale, which aired on BBC One on Christmas Day.
In her memoir, she wrote about the role, sharing how she first met Ruth Jones and James Corden on the ITV show ‘Fat Friends’ and that they had her in mind when they wrote Pam in Gavin & Stacey.
Alison wrote in her book: “Casting is key to the success of theatre, television and film, and the casting director on Gavin And Stacey brought together an ensemble of actors that were a perfect fit for the characters that I’d read on the page. I can remember thinking on our first day together, this is the beginning of the best job ever.”