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Actors facing ‘very tough’ times, says Alison Steadman at 23 Walks premiere

Alison Steadman reflected on the “very tough” times for the acting industry as she attended the socially distanced premiere for her new film 23 Walks.

The Gavin And Stacey star attended the socially distanced event in London on Thursday night.

She said we are living through “dreadful times and hopefully we will find our way through it”.

23 Walks premiere – London
Alison Steadman (Ian West/PA)

“It is very tough in the industry, particularly for young actors,” Steadman added.

“I really felt for them when we were all in lockdown,” she told the PA news agency.

In the film the actress stars alongside Dave Johns, who said he was pleased to be able to see it in a cinema.

23 Walks premiere – London
Dave Johns (Ian West/PA)

“I must have watched everything on Netflix and everything on Amazon Prime. There’s nothing left,” he said.

He added he is “sick of watching films on the TV” and it is “brilliant” to be able to watch something in a cinema despite the social distancing rules.

The cinema is where films “should be watched”, he added.

23 Walks tells the story of Dave and Fern, played by Johns and Steadman respectively, who meet while walking their dogs in a north London park.

Over the course of 23 walks romance blossoms between the pair.

23 Walks premiere – London
Paul Morrison (Ian West/PA)

The film was written and directed by former Oscar nominee Paul Morrison.

Johns added he was attracted to the “gentleness” of the film.

“There’s not many… love stories about 60-year-olds and I thought it was about time,” he added.

“The sex scenes are more Last Of The Summer Wine than Game Of Thrones but hey, it’s all done tastefully.”

He said he had “written this year off” because of the disruption to the entertainment industry caused by coronavirus.

“We have the best job in the world, theatre and film and I’m a stand-up comic, but we have got the worst job in the world because we need people and Covid doesn’t allow people to spend time together,” Johns added.

“You need to watch things with a crowd.”