Brenda Blethyn Confesses to 'Throwing Her Weight About' on Vera Set
For fourteen remarkable years, Brenda Blethyn reigned supreme as the indomitable DCI Vera Stanhope – the dishevelled detective with a caustic wit and an unerring instinct for solving crimes. Now, the celebrated actress has candidly admitted that behind the beloved ITV drama's scenes, she could sometimes 'throw her weight about.'
A New Chapter Demands New Behaviour
The veteran performer, aged 80, who embodied the famously no-nonsense detective from the show's 2011 premiere until its poignant conclusion last year, disclosed that while she was known for 'getting the giggles' off-camera during Vera, her conduct had to be markedly different on her latest project. Speaking at a Q&A screening for her new period drama A Woman of Substance, Brenda revealed she felt compelled to be on her best behaviour after years of effectively ruling the Vera production.
'I kind of behaved myself on this more because on Vera I sort of threw my weight about a bit, you know, and we could have a laugh now and again,' she confessed. 'But this is like a new thing coming onto this, I didn't rule the roost on this, so I had to behave myself.'
Emotional Farewell to an Iconic Role
Brenda Blethyn dedicated over a decade to portraying the iconic detective in the ITV crime drama, which spanned fourteen series and solidified its status as one of the channel's most enduring successes. When the series finally drew to a close last year, the actress openly admitted she found it profoundly difficult to bid farewell to a character that had become inextricably linked with her career.
'It broke my heart when I read the script, and it was emotional to film,' she reflected at the time, later conceding she struggled to 'drag herself away' from a role she had inhabited for so long. Now, she makes a triumphant return to television in a vastly different context.
Starring in a Sweeping Period Drama
Brenda takes a leading role in Channel 4's upcoming adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's best-selling novel A Woman of Substance, an epic rags-to-riches drama tracing the extraordinary ascent of Emma Harte. The narrative unfolds across six decades, following Emma's journey from a destitute Yorkshire kitchen maid in the early 1900s to a formidable business magnate by the 1970s.
This lavish period production also features House of Guinness actress Jessica Reynolds, 27, alongside Emmett J. Scanlan, 47, and Will Mellor, 49. Brenda notably praised Jessica Reynolds, who portrays the younger incarnation of her character in A Woman Of Substance, describing their physical resemblance as 'uncanny.'
Deep Personal Resonance with the Story
For Brenda Blethyn, however, this project holds a deeply personal significance. She revealed that her own mother began her working life in domestic service within a grand house in Kent – an experience strikingly parallel to the early life of the drama's central protagonist.
Speaking at the screening, she elaborated: 'My mum actually started life as a skivvy in a big house down in Kent, that's where she met my dad, actually, he was a chauffeur. She would work about three or four jobs a day to make ends meet. We were very, very poor growing up, very, very poor.'
'My mum was a wonderful woman and I used to love listening to her stories of what life was like in those days,' Brenda continued with evident affection. 'She was a kitchen maid who worked her way up to become a lady's maid, as Emma does, and she would tell me about brushing the lady's hair.'
Brenda, brimming with admiration for this tale of a resilient Yorkshire woman's rise to success, added enthusiastically: 'I've bought a copy of the original series and I plan to watch it after our version airs!'
A Woman of Substance premieres on Channel 4 this Wednesday at 9pm.
