Alison Steadman says working on sitcom Gavin And Stacey is the "best job ever" and she knew on day one the show was going to be brilliant because of the casting.
The acclaimed actress, 78, has just published her memoirs and unsurprisingly there is a chapter on her role as Pamela Shipman in the hit sitcom.
She first met Ruth Jones and James Corden on show Fat Friends and they had her in mind when they wrote Pam in Gavin And Stacey. But the creators have also done brilliantly putting together the rest of the main cast including Alison's on-screen husband Larry Lamb, Joanna Page and Mathew Horne.
Alison writes: "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."
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Alison goes on to describe Joanna Page as "perfect" for the role of Stacey and describes Mathew as "my little prince" and says she knew they would work as an onscreen couple. She concludes: "The was magic in the air and we all felt it."
Alison also describes in the book how she helped bond the cast and crew in the first series by setting up drinking sessions in the hotel bar which was dubbed 'Ali's Parlour'.
She writes: "I found myself going into full event organiser mode at the end of each day in an attempt to bring us all together. And the bar very quickly was christened Ali's Parlour by the producer, Lindsay Hughes.
"Very soon, there would be no need to herd the troops, as people could be heard saying 'Ali's parlour' to each other, which became our recognised shorthand for an end of the day drink and get together.
"It was such a happy cast. Through the brilliance of the writing, everyone had their moment, and we could believe in all the characters leading full lives. Being able to have such confidence in the writing is so liberating as it allows you to be playful with your part within the scripts, with no need for improvisation at all." The final ever episode of Gavin And Stacey will air on BBC1 on Day.
Alison has been out and about promoting her new book Out Of Character. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, she said the cast were keen to keep the final scenes under wraps despite lots of scrutiny when they have been filming in recent weeks.
She said: “Ruth [Jones] and James [Corden] were saying to everyone 'we don’t want to spoil it for you. We want Christmas Day to be a surprise'.
“And once you know a bit of secret or a story, then you’re going to spoil it. They want it to be a surprise, and that is what I want too."
She added that even after filming finished her bond with her on screen son had continued. She said: "When we finished filming the other day, I got this lovely card from Matt Horne, who plays Gavin, and he just said, ‘I’m so, so proud to think I’ve had you as my mum in the series. It was just so lovely. It’s been such a great show to do."
The hit TV series aired between 2007 and 2010 and returned in 2019 with a one-off festive episode that ended on a cliffhanger when Nessa, played by Ruth Jones, proposed to Smithy, played by Corden.
It is now returning this Christmas for a one-off special, which will mark the end in the series.
Out Of Character by Alison Steadman is out now, published by HarperCollins.
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