Alison Steadman has quit stage acting.
The 73-year-old actress – who is known for playing Pam Shipman in ‘Gavin and Stacey’, among other roles – has decided to leave theatre acting behind after 52 years of treading the boards, because she has developed "stage fright".
Speaking to Radio Times magazine, she said: "I’ve got a bit of stage fright now. I don’t think I’m going to be doing theatre again.
"Initially, it made me very sad but now I think, ‘OK, accept it. You can do telly. You can do radio’."
Alison made her stage debut in 1968 in ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’.
She later won an Olivier Award for her work in ‘The Rise and Fall of Little Voice’ after committing to a range of films throughout the 80s.
But it is her talent for various character voices that has made her a hit on radio, as well as taking on the role of Pam in ‘Gavin and Stacey’, which she played from 2007 to 2010 before returning for the Christmas special last year.
Alison has admitted she dislikes watching herself on TV, but recently broke her habit by watching the show’s big Christmas comeback.
She said: "I watched it several times, which I don’t normally do.
"Anything I’m in, I don’t watch because I think I look old and fat. But with that, I loved it so much that I had to watch it again."
However, she doesn’t "feel any pressure" to look a certain way at this stage in her career.
She added: "I look the way I want, I don’t feel any pressure, not at all.
"Maybe there is for the younger actresses, if you were in your 20s and you had to be a skinny Jane, or something.
"But for me, it’s great – I can just do what I want."