‘You can’t call it Britain any more!’: Alison Steadman slams government’s ‘disgraceful’ treatment of NHS ahead of nurses’ strikes

Alison Steadman said the country no longer deserved to be called “Britain” because of the current state of the National Health Service.

The Gavin and Stacey actress, 76, slammed the “shame” government for underfunding and neglecting the service and for not agreeing to talks with nurses ahead of strikes.

She told The Mirror: “You can’t call it Britain anymore, I don’t think. I love my country, I am loyal to my country, but I think about the last 12 years [of Tory rule] it went wrong.’

Keep Our NHS Public Patron Alison went on to defend the nurses, saying they were hard-working and underpaid and not “greedy people who want a raise”.

“Something has to happen. It must be negotiated. The fact that they (the nurses) are threatening to strike means they are really stretched to the limit and the government must do something about it.”

She added: “People are dying because they can’t get to hospital. We need more nurses, more doctors, more paramedics. We need more hospitals.”

Frank: She said, ‘You can’t call it Britain any more, I don’t think. I love my country, I am loyal to my country, but I think about the last 12 years [of Tory rule] things went’ (photo PM Rishi Sunak)

The Royal College of Nursing has announced that the first in a series of wage strikes will take place on Thursday 15 and Tuesday 20 December.

Health insiders have warned that the disruption will cost lives as a “holiday shift” causes delays and cancellations for everything from routine surgeries to chemotherapy treatments.

It comes as NHS bosses have warned that the health service is facing the “most challenging winter on record” with the “triple epidemic” of flu, Covid and record demand for emergency services.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he “deeply regretted” the strikes but added that the demands – a 19 per cent pay rise – were simply “unaffordable”.

Last month, Alison shared that she found out her father was adopted when she appeared on DNA Journey, and said her family was unaware beforehand.

The star revealed the shocking discovery to Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, saying she was “so upset” to learn her grandmother was not biologically related to her.

Speaking to hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls last month, Alison admitted she didn’t think her dad knew he was adopted and revealed none of her family knew.

Revelation: This comes after Alison opened up about her adopted father while appearing on DNA Journey and said her family were completely unaware of it.

Asked what discoveries she was exposed to in ITV’s DNA journey, Alison said: “My dad was adopted, which I didn’t know, none of us in our family knew.”

Her Gavin and Stacey co-star Larry Lamb, who appeared with her on DNA Journey and joined her on the morning chat show, said: “She was blown away!”

Alison explained that her father was eight months old when he was adopted, and said she was “so glad” that Larry, 75, was there to support her after learning the difficult news.

‘I do not think so [my father] knew. He was eight months old,” Alison continued.

“I was honestly so glad I had Larry with me because it really pissed me off.”

‘I was so upset’: Alison, who appeared on the show with Larry Lamb, admitted she didn’t think her dad knew he was adopted and revealed no one in her family knew