Actress Brenda Blethyn has had more than 45 years in the industry and is best-known for her long-running role portraying DCI Vera Stanhope on ITV drama Vera, based on the series of novels from Anne Cleeves. She is now set to reprise the character Kate in the second series of ITV sitcom Kate and Koji, which returns to our screens on Wednesday, March 16.
The series follows Kate, a working-class café owner in a coastal resort in south Essex, who develops a strong friendship with regular customer Koji.
It was also reported by the Radio Times earlier this week that Brenda will be returning for the twelfth series of Vera and filming will start in March, but many fans are still waiting on the final two episodes of series 11 to be shown on ITV.
Read more: Hollyoaks fans react to Gemma Atkinson's return to Channel 4 soap after 16 years
But when did Brenda's career start and how did she become the big household name we all know and love? Take a look into the life and career of the 76-year-old actress:
Brenda's early life and career
Brenda was born in Ramsgate in Kent in 1946, to a family of nine siblings. Speaking on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show in January, 2020, whilst promoting the tenth series of Vera, Brenda explained: "I'm the youngest of nine, but by the time I came along the first batch were sort of leaving home and moving on. It's great, I love my family, we're all very close and we get on very well. We've lost some of them now. There are only six of us left I believe."
She first started her acting career on stage in the 1970s after studying in The Guildford School of Acting in Guildford in Surrey. Brenda then went on to have a career in television, starring in 1984 sitcom Chance In A Million alongside Simon Callow, Deddie Davies and more.
Brenda's other most notable role was in 1994 - she began playing Miriam Dervish in the ITV sitcom Outside Edge, with co-stars Robert Daws, Timothy Spall and Josie Lawrence. Her film appearances include 1990's The Witches, A River Runs Through It in 1992, Pride and Prejudice in 2005, and the 2007 film Atonement, alongside James McAvoy and Keira Knightley and many more credits to her name.
Brenda Blethyn on hoping to continue playing DCI Vera Stanhope
The 76-year-old actress has been playing the memorable, popular and frank detective Vera, for more than a decade now - first starting the role in 2011 - and it seems she's not quite ready to hang up the raincoat and hat just yet. Speaking to the Radio Times on March 14, Brenda said: “I haven’t got any plans to [leave]. At the moment, all the time I’m fit and able, I’ll be visiting Vera.”
Filming for series 11 of the hit ITV detective drama was slightly different to what the cast and crew were used to due to the pandemic and the Covid restrictions in place during the time of filming. In August, 2021, Brenda spoke of how she 'bubbled up' with co-star Kenny Doughty who plays Vera's sidekick DS Aiden Healy, The Mirror reported.
“As Kenny and I have a lot of scenes together, and especially in the Land Rover, it was decided we should be in a bubble,” Brenda explained in August during promo for the eleventh series of Vera: “Very nice for me – not so for him! Our apartments were next door to one another. We weren’t allowed visitors – even my husband wasn’t allowed to visit unless he’d been tested or quarantined.”
That wasn't the only thing that changed due to the pandemic, Brenda explained how Vera's beloved Land Rover - which is a hit with many fans - also got the once-over. “When we shot the first scene in the Land Rover, I was horrified to notice that all the rubbish that Vera has accumulated had been removed and the whole vehicle sanitised,” Brenda said, adding: “I cried, ‘I want all Vera’s rubbish back please’. So they sanitised all the rubbish and put it back in. All the empty crisp bags and apple cores. They all came back.”
Who is Brenda Blethyn married to?
Brenda married for the first time at aged 19 to Alan Blethyn, a graphic designer. But, sadly, the marriage only lasted nine years before they split. She then met Michael Mayhew, a director at the National Theatre, but the pair didn't wed until 35 years after they had first met. They officially tied the knot in 2010 and Brenda explained how it was a "sensible thing to do".
The Mirror reported in 2021 of how the actress told Radio Times: "We were getting on a bit and it seemed the sensible thing to do. Neither of us were going anywhere so it just presents a problem if one of us pops our clogs."
She also spoke of how the couple spent the first lockdown apart after she got stuck in their home in Ramsgate just before heading off to film the new Vera episodes up in the North East. “Apart from living in London I also have a home in Ramsgate," she told The Mirror in 2021, "I was there gathering my last bits and pieces to take up to Newcastle with me for filming when the lockdown happened, so I couldn’t go home. My husband was in London and he couldn’t come down, so we were apart.”
What awards has Brenda Blethyn received?
Brenda was awarded an OBE in 2003 for services to drama in the 2003 New Year Honours. She attended the investiture ceremony with her husband. The actress has also been nominated for and taken home countless awards, she won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress, a British comedy Award in 1994 for her work in Outside Edge, a BAFTA, a Cannes Festival Award for Best Actress in Strawberry Fields Forever and two Academy Award nominations.
In November, 2021, it was also announced that Brenda would be the recipient of the Rose d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding career and starring role as Vera - ITV’s longest-running female detective. "A very happy 60th birthday to the Rose D’or Awards," Brenda said on receiving the award, adding, "and thank you so much for this very prestigious award. I’m humbled to walk in the footsteps of previous winners. I’m over the moon!”
Kate and Koji will continue to air weekly on Wednesday evenings on ITV and the ITV Hub from March 16 at 9pm. You can also watch series one to eleven of ITV's Vera on the ITV Hub.
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