How long can you be a national treasure for? Alison Steadman arguably holds some sort of record: ever since her breakthrough performance in the TV version of Abigail’s Party, back in 1977, she’s been a brilliant, comforting, spiky staple of British screen and stage.
Her collaborations with ex-husband Mike Leigh (she was pregnant with their first son shooting Abigail’s Party) are what defined her early career in the public consciousness. Life is Sweet, Hard Labour, Nuts in May; later the likes of Topsy-Turvy.
