Alison Steadman: You Ask The Questions

The actress Alison Steadman, OBE, was born in Liverpool in 1946. She made her name as the neurotic hostess Beverly in Abigail's Party (1977), a play written and directed by her then husband, Mike Leigh.

The actress Alison Steadman, OBE, was born in Liverpool in 1946. She made her name as the neurotic hostess Beverly in Abigail's Party (1977), a play written and directed by her then husband, Mike Leigh. Her other work with Leigh includes the television film Nuts in May (1976) and the feature films Life is Sweet (1990) and Topsy Turvy (1999). The couple, who have two sons, separated in 1996. Her television credits range from the BBC's Pride and Prejudice to The Singing Detective and Fat Friends. She lives in north London with the actor Michael Elwyn.

Beverly in Abigail's Party - goddess or monster? And who really created her: you or Mike Leigh?
Jackie Smith, by e-mail

She is an absolute monster, I think. She's just out for herself, manipulative and totally selfish - but great fun. I think we need a few Beverlys around, just to balance things out.

She was created by both me and Mike Leigh. I based the character on two people I knew at the time. And one day, while we were rehearsing, I was in Selfridges and spotted a woman demonstrating make-up. She was full of the patter. "This colour is very popular in Paris at the moment, and believe me, whatever's popular in Paris last week will be here this week," she was saying. So a lot of Bevisms were absorbed that day and became part of the character.

Is it true that you sneaked off to your drama-school audition without telling anyone? How did your family respond when you got in?
Pat Morris, by e-mail

Well, my parents knew that I was going, but nobody else did. I didn't tell anyone at work because I was working in a probation office at the time and I thought, "If I don't get a place, they'll all go 'Ohhhhh... She thinks can be an actress!'" Luckily, I did get a place. My family were thrilled and delighted. And the people in the probation office thought it was wonderful. My boss had always said, "You can't stay here. Whatever else you do with your life, you cannot stay here."

I hear you're a fan of the TV show 24. What has been the most pivotal day of your life?
Jane Singleton, Chichester

The most pivotal days of my life were without a doubt the days when each of my two sons were born. They were just fantastic and not to be forgotten. No doubt about it.

Nuts in May was not a great advertisement for camping holidays. Do you ever go yourself, and if not, what's your holiday of choice?
Bill Longhurst, Ipswich

I don't go camping. I'm too old to sleep on the floor now. But when we were filming Nuts in May, we did everything except sleep the night in the tent. My partner in the film, Keith, who was played by Roger Sloman, planned the holiday from start to finish every day: up at seven, do this, do that, walk here, walk there. Roger really did draw up an itinerary every day and we did it all, God help us. One time, we had to do a 15-mile walk along the coastal path - it nearly killed us both. But it was great fun, and we were much younger then. We'd get back to the hotel and fall in to hot baths. My ideal holiday now would be in the Lake District, slightly out of season.

When did your talent for mimicry first show itself? What's your best impression?
Charles Pugh, Birmingham

When I was younger, I used to think that doing impressions was what acting was about. I think children often do, and then they grow out of it. But I didn't. I'm not sure what my best impression is, but I used to really enjoy playing Margaret Thatcher on the radio show WeekEnding. I was forced into doing it, actually. The directors had asked me if I impersonated her and I said "No, no, I don't." Then I arrived the next Friday, opened my script and there was Margaret in four of the sketches. And you didn't have any time to prepare - you just read it through and record it. So I had to take a deep breath and have a go.

You are known for basing your characters on real people. Are you prepared to reveal your sources?
Sheila Collison, by e-mail

No! I don't want to make enemies. Certain members of my family wouldn't be too thrilled if I did.

Apparently, you used to pursue The Beatles as a teenager in Liverpool. Is there anyone who makes you star-struck these days?
John Gibson, Woking

Well, it's true and it's not true. Like 99.9 per cent of all teenagers at the time, particularly in Liverpool, I was a Beatles fan. I used to go to The Cavern Club to the lunchtime sessions because I wasn't allowed to go into town at night. One day, myself and a couple of friends followed John and Paul down the street and into the city's main Post Office. I was the one who was pushed forward to go and ask Paul for his autograph. I can still remember him saying, "What's your name, love?" I said "Alison", with a trembling voice, and he put "To Allison," - spelt my name wrong, never mind - "Love from Paul." As he handed it to me he took it back and said "Oh, I'd better put 'The Beatles' because otherwise people will look at it and go, 'Who the bloody hell's Paul?'" There's no one I really get star-struck about nowadays. But I love Will Young. When he did Pop Idol, I voted for him 50 times.

Your characters have many wonderful qualities, but style has rarely been one of them. Do you ever yearn to play someone really stylish and posh?
Karen Harris, London

I suppose, now and again, it would be nice to play someone who's really stylish. I enjoy wearing nice clothes; I love shopping. But Beverly was quite smart, wasn't she? She had a nice orange dress and gold jewellery. I don't know why I play unstylish characters so often. You've got me worried now.

I hear that you stripped for your first professional role. Was that scary? And, like Helen Mirren, would you still bare all?
Carrie Sankey, by e-mail

It is true, although it sounds a bit more risqué than it was. My first professional job was playing Sandy in a stage production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She has to pose naked for the artist who's painting her and the audience get a back view of her body. In those days, you were given a body stocking to wear, which was awful. They are made of the same material as tights, but are made like a swimming costume with flesh-coloured straps. I was far more embarrassed wearing that than posing with no clothes on. Everything gets squashed... it's just horrible.

So, I said I wouldn't wear it. This was in 1969, so it was still quite a rare thing for people to appear nude. But I thought, "Oh, just do it." As for stripping off now, there is no way I would do it. I mean, come on, I'm nearly 57, thank you very much. Who wants to look at a 57-year-old wobbling round the place? No thank you.

You research your roles thoroughly, wrapping yourself up in your characters. Is it painful disentangling yourself afterwards?
Paula Sexton, Colchester

No. When you come home from work, you just want to pour yourself a glass of wine and forget about it.

Alison Steadman appears in the short film 'DIY Hard', which is being shown at The Rushes Soho Short Film Festival in London (www.sohoshorts.com)