The Bafta-winning actress and star of Gavin and Stacey has told of her torment in her new autobiography “Out of Character”
Gavin and Stacey star Alison Steadman has shared her angry reaction to bumping into a man who she said had sexually assaulted her. The actress was walking through London’s Euston Station in the 1980s when she recognised the face from her past.
The then 36-year-old said it triggered memories of a sex assault that had happened to her 20 years earlier, when she was just 16. The man, who was her teacher at the time, had told her no-one would believe a “schoolgirl” over him if she disclosed the assault.
Seizing the opportunity to confront him, she approached and asked: “Do you remember me? You should do, you threatened to rape and murder me in Sefton Park. I’ll never forgive you.”
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Alison, now 78, recounts the sexual assault and her subsequent encounter with her attacker in her new autobiography. She also shares her experience of being bullied by a director and sexually assaulted by a crew member after securing a TV role in the 1970s.
Despite these traumatic experiences, Alison, who grew up in Anfield, went on to have a successful career in stage and screen, with notable roles in Abigail’s Party, Pride and Prejudice, Fat Friends and Gavin and Stacey. However, the memories of the bullying and sexual assaults remained a “constant weight”.
As a young girl Alison attended a youth theatre club where she felt safe with the regular teachers. However, there were visiting tutors, including a teacher who took charge for a few weeks and used humour to win over the class, reports the Mirror. Alison recounted a chilling experience where she was offered a lift home by a man, even though she initially refused.
Feeling embarrassed, she eventually acquiesced and got into his car. But rather than taking her to Sherwyn Road where she lived, he diverted to the secluded woodlands of Sefton Park. In a terrifying ordeal, he grasped her hands and sexually assaulted while graphically stating his intentions.
Resisting, Alison threatened to expose him, only to be met with his menacing retort: “Who do you think they will believe? A schoolgirl or me? ” He further intimidated her by saying, “I could do whatever I want with you now. I could murder you and dump your body in the park. No one would know it was me.”
After a harrowing hour, he nonchalantly drove her home. Fearing her parents might stop her returning to the youth theatre, Alison remained silent about the incident, a point she reflects upon in her book, noting, “My youthful decision not to tell anyone had locked part of me away and I chose to remain quiet, haunted by, ‘Who do you think they’d believe? A schoolgirl or me? ‘.”
“We can put in place as many safeguards as we like, but… as long as that admired person, that trusted person, that successful person, that funny person… is able to subtly infiltrate and embed themselves, before making their clearly calculated strike, then there is a risk.”
After securing a TV role in the 1970s, Alison was subjected to bullying by a female director who consistently criticised her acting in front of the cameras, leaving Alison in tears before work. The situation worsened when she accepted a lift from a crew member, who took a detour and pulled into a side lane, then attempted to sexually assault her.
She writes: “I could practically hear him say, ‘You know you want it’, which I most certainly did not. It was terrifying.” When Alison shouted at him to stop, he drove off at speed, dropping her at the nearest train station.
She writes: “The shame and the embarrassment that I’ve borne has been a constant weight. This and my time on Z Cars have remained clear memories that have disturbed my peace of mind. Like the director, the teacher went on to lead a successful and high-profile life and it had been troubling to have seen both of them move on without a care to the damage that they had caused by their reprehensible behaviour.”
