Alison Steadman has admitted she has a ‘ridiculous’ obsession with mushrooms.
The actress, 74, is set to appear on the new Channel 4 show Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig, where the host takes viewers on a tour of the most beautiful holiday spots in the UK.
During the show, Alison is seen taking pictures of various fungi on her iPad, which prompts her to reveal her keen interest in mushrooms with the QI host, 62.
‘I have so many pictures of mushrooms on my iPad’: Alison Steadman admitted on Channel 4’s Extraordinary Adventures with Sandi Toksvig that she has a ‘ridiculous’ obsession with FUNGI
Alison gushed: ‘I’ve got so many pictures of mushrooms on my iPad it’s ridiculous. Oh god I take pics, yeah all the time. I love fungi.
‘I love fungus, I mean, the most exciting one was a few weeks ago, I was walking, and I found this fungus, and it had red with the white dots on. I was in heaven, absolute heaven.’
Reflecting on why she has such a fixation with mushrooms, Alison claimed it could be related to her interest in fairytales when she was a young girl.
Excited: During the show, Alison is seen taking pictures of various fungi on her iPad, which prompts her to reveal her keen interest in mushrooms with the QI host (pictured: stock photo)
Sweet: Alison said of her keen interest, ‘I’ve got so many pictures of mushrooms on my iPad it’s ridiculous. Oh god I take pics, yeah all the time. I love fungi’
She explained to Sandi: ‘Maybe it comes from childhood. I don’t know fairies and fairies and the stories behind mushrooms and all that and the fact that it’s, you know, just one day they suddenly pop up. I love it.’
Amused by her friend’s love of fungus, Sandi joked: ‘Can I just say you’ve not taken a single picture of me in the entire trip. Just mushrooms and clouds.’
It isn’t just mushrooms that holds a special place in Alison’s heart, as she also said she loves to birdwatch and feels the birds who visit her garden are her ‘friends’, so much so she’ll often run out to top up her feeders if there are none at it.
Origin: Reflecting on why she has such a fixation with mushrooms, Alison claimed it could be related to her interest in fairytales when she was a young girl.
In December, Alison confirmed there are currently no plans for Gavin and Stacey to return to TV, amid mixed messages from the show’s creators, James Corden and Ruth Jones.
The OBE awarded actress said she ‘hopes everyday’ Gavin and Stacey will make a comeback following the final episode, which aired on Christmas Day in 2019.
During a BBC Breakfast interview, Alison said: ‘I don’t know, as far as I know, and this is the honest truth, I haven’t heard that there’s going to be another show at all.
‘I hope everyday that I’ll get another message saying, “oh guess what?” But we’ll see, fingers crossed.’
The hit BBC show was written by Jones, 54, who played Nessa Jenkins, and Corden, 42, the actor behind the beloved character, Neil ‘Smithy’ Smith.
The award-winning comedy first aired in 2017 and followed the stories of two families, Gavin’s relatives in Billericay, Essex and Stacey’s clan in Barry, South Wales.
It ran for two seasons until 2008, before airing one-off specials in 2009, 2010 and 2019.
Dashed hopes: In December, Alison confirmed there are currently no plans for Gavin and Stacey to return, amid mixed messages from show’s creators, James Corden and Ruth Jones
Still a chance? The actress revealed she ‘hopes everyday’ that it will make a comeback (pictured with co-stars Matthew Horne and Larry Lamb)