Brenda Blethyn opens up on key advice from own mother before pursuing TV career in rare family admission

A synopsis for the series, which is set to air on Channel 4, reads: "From servant's quarters to business empire, Emma Harte's indomitable spirit propels her rise from poverty to riches, yearning for one unattainable love."

After noting comparisons between her character Emma and her own mother's upbringing, Ms Blethyn recalled some key advice she'd received from her.

Emma's mother urges her to "Get out and get on," in the series, which also resonated with Ms Bletyhn.

When asked if her own mother told her the same, the actress told Radio Times: "Yes! They both said, 'You can do anything you want to do if you work for it. You're as good as anybody else.'"

Drawing on the impact of her parents' words, the Vera star added: "So we've all worked hard."

Remembering more about her parents, she continued: "They both told us stories.

"My dad would talk about being in India in the Royal Artillery, walk about telling stories, acting them out.

"Perhaps about the desert, adventures, people in delirium. One of his duties was driving the dustcart, and he’d collect periodicals, books and comics that people threw out."

Ms Blethyn went on to reveal she loved the story of A Woman of Substance, which is based on Barbara Taylor Bradford's novel.

She described the plot as "so rich," calling it "luscious."

The story follows a 1900s Yorkshire kitchen maid who turns her life around with her gift for dressmaking, becoming a global business owner by the 1960s.

Ms Blethyn's own parents weren't worlds away from the character of Emma, with her mother having worked as a kitchen maid who worked up to a lady's maid.

The actress reflected on the "hard, long hours" her parents worked.

Earlier this year, Ms Blethyn made clear she has no intention of retiring from acting.

Best known for her role as DCI Vera Stanhope in the ITV series that ran from 2011 to 2025, the actress had been nominated for a Bafta this year.

She was longlisted for her role in Dragonfly alongside nine other actresses for the Supporting Actress gong in January, but it was later confirmed she had missed out on the accolade.

Instead, Marty Supreme's Odessa A'Zion, Sentimental Value's Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sinners' Wunmi Mosaku, The Ballad of Wallis Island's Carey Mulligan, One Battle After Another's Teyana Taylor, and Hamnet's Emily Watson, landed nominations, with Ms Mosaku landing the award during last week's Baftas.

However, Ms Blethyn hopes to carry on acting, telling Prima Magazine ahead of her 80th birthday last month: "I'm lucky to have been working all this time.

"Now I'm nearly 80, and I'm not thinking about retiring at all — though perhaps I will cut back a bit and spend more time at home."