Alison Steadman on her bond with Robbie Williams after playing his late nan in Better Man biopic

Virgin Radio

19 Jul 2022, 16:52

Gavin & Stacey star Alison Steadman has shared she has a 'grandmotherly' love for Robbie Williams since starring with him in Better Man.

The actress is playing the Take That singer's late nanny Betty in the biopic and appeared on ITV's Lorraine.

Alison said on the morning show: "I was in Melbourne recently with Robbie Williams. He was there, I gave him a hug. I’m playing his nan."

She added: "He loved his nan and she sort of helped him through difficult times. He was devastated when she died."

According to The Sun, the singer told the audience at a gig in Melbourne last week about the feature and said: "The thing is about films is that it is a wonder anything gets made.

"Everything gets held up in a bottleneck. It is always, 'This person says no and this person says yes and this person is offended and this person is not offended enough.' It is agents and lawyers.

"I am 97 per cent sure it will happen. I don't know who will play me when I am younger but I know who will play me when I am older. You're looking at him."

Directed by Victorian's Michael Gracey, the team struggled to find the perfect older Robbie, so he's taking on the role himself.

An insider told the Mirror previously: "Michael and Robbie held top-secret auditions to find a star to play the young Robbie recently.

"They didn’t meet anyone they were confident could pull it off. Robbie is stunned at how difficult the project has been to get made."

Robbie said of the saucy bits: "There are sex scenes that I do not condone. I am like, 'If they must be in there, Michael, then you put them in there.

"He said that it is a necessity for the script that I get completely naked and I am not sure why as there is one scene where we are in a church and it does not call for it.

"It is my life and it is what I got up to. It is not anodyne, it is not vanilla. It is drugs, the ups, the downs, the women, the sex."

Gracey said in a statement: "To tell Robbie William's beautiful, distinct story, back home, in my own city, is a dream come true.

"There is a creative energy that burns across the Melbourne film industry, and I know this movie will thrive here."

Let Them Entertain Us.