Actress Brenda Blethyn has issued a defiant statment after she was ‘snubbed’ by the New Year’s honours list. The 78-year-old recently finished playing DCI Vera Stanhope in the popular ITV show Vera.
But she shows no signs of slowing down and has already featured in an upcoming movie. Over her five-decade career she has appeared in films such as Pride and Prejudice in 2005 and 1992’s A River Runs Through It.
She landed Oscar nominations for her roles in Secrets and Lies and Little Voice in 1996 and 1998 respectively. Woman’s Weekly asked Brenda how it felt to miss out on the recognition of a damehood despite her enviable career in showbusiness.
Brenda responded: “Recognition? Vera is now shown in 180 territories. It’s number one in Japan, knocking Poirot off the top spot. That’s recognition enough.”
Speaking about her upcoming movie ‘Dragonfly’ on ITV’s This Morning, Brenda mentioned: “I just stepped in to help them out really, as they’d lost one of their actors, someone had to withdraw and the start was imminent.
“They said ‘would you consider doing this? ‘ And I thought, ‘let’s have a read’ and I loved it, so yeah,” Brenda revealed about being approached for her role. She confesses that playing the part of the copper instilled her with “confidence” as she became an “authority” on the subject.
After Vera concluded last year, Brenda shared that there were emotional moments on set, with tears shed as everyone bid farewell, BristolLive reports. She said that she is also excited about the prospect of spending more time at home with her partner Michael Mayhew and their cockapoo Jack.