NORTHERN STAR
Brenda Blethyn long ago won a permanent place on the wall of fame reserved for those we like to call ‘national treasures’. In a career spanning four decades, her face became instantly recognisable for her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Cynthia, the troubled heroine of Mike Leigh’s gritty film, Secrets & Lies. Now she is back on our screens for a fourth series of Vera, the Northumberland-based detective series, playing DCI Vera Stanhope – her overcoat and felt fishing hat as recognisable as Columbo’s mac.
For those who are already fans the format needs no explanation, for everyone else, it can be summed up as a good old-fashioned whodunnit. And like all our favourite detectives, she has a sidekick. In this case it’s bad boy turned good cop, Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth, beautifully played by Geordie actor David Leon.
The coastlines of the northeast, where most of the action takes place, are a long way from the actress’s childhood home in Ramsgate. Born Brenda Bottle, she was the youngest of nine children, in a working-class world. There was one cold tap in the house and no heating. When the family moved into a house with indoor plumbing, she used to marvel at the sound of the cistern filling. As a child she never imagined being an actress, grateful to get a job as a secretary for British Rail. It was there, in her early 20s, that she was asked to help with the Euston Players, British Rail’s now defunct am-dram society – three years later, she left for drama school. Coming to acting relatively late is something she feels has helped her during her career.
‘Some young people who haven’t had much interaction with others are brilliant, they’re just naturally brilliant actors. I needed that extra bit of knowing people and trying to understand people. It’s just storing things up. Just remembering and understanding situations you’re in or the way people would have reacted to something.’
Vera has been on our screens since 2011 and Brenda believes it gets better with each series – a fifth has already been commissioned. But equally, Vera is a difficult character to inhabit. Driven by her own demons (some of which may be revealed in this latest series), the grufftalking character isn’t the easiest person to work for. Despite that, Blethyn believes Vera makes a great boss.
‘I mean, I’m a working-class girl, I am really happy if I feel the directors and the producers are pleased with what I’m doing. And Vera’s staff would be pleased to think Vera was happy with what they’re doing.’
Once handed the script, is she tempted to flick to the back and find out who did it? ‘No, I never go straight to the end, I always read it, hoping that I’ll get the same experience that you’ll get from watching it. Otherwise I’ve got ammunition that the viewer doesn’t have.
‘I just want to go on that journey, see how intrigued I am by it. Sometimes I think, “Oh, I bet that’s where that’s going, got it.” But then I’m wrong.’
It’s helped that she used to have family in Northumberland, although having already mastered the accent for the previous three series, she still had to get back into doing it again.
‘If I’m working on it, it’s easy to slip back into it, especially when I’m up there. But I would do a bit of work on it before. I did loads of work to start with, because it’s not an easy one. But I don’t think about it now. It’s funny, of all the jobs I’ve done, this is the only one that I’m asked a lot about the accent; it’s because it’s notoriously difficult. People either think it’s brilliant or “Oh god, it’s dreadful!”’
Although opinions may be split, she had the locals fooled. ‘I asked a taxi driver to take me to my hotel and he said, “You look like that Vera.” I said, well I play Vera. He said he thought I was local. I was really pleased about that. When we film in a residential area, people come out with tables and chairs as if it’s teatime. They’ll say, “Come here Vera love.” And I’ll go over and have a cup of tea.
‘Once there was a gang of kids, they were so noisy, and we thought we would never get the scene shot. But then someone went over to them and they said, “Vera?” and then they shouted “We love Vera, we love Vera”. We asked if they could keep everybody quiet and they were like church mice. They would have ganged up on anyone who made a noise. It was so sweet.’
Brenda believes that Vera is a positive role model.
‘Women say to me, “It’s lovely having a woman telling all those men what to do.” I get that reaction from women who look like Vera, punching the air with joy, as she’s someone they can identify with, who’s in authority, without having to wear lipstick, or come off a catwalk.’ And that whatever else is happening, it’s important to laugh.
‘For me, laughing is vital. Mum and Dad fought like cat and dog, but they laughed more, and rows never lasted long. And that’s something my family do, just laugh. If you can see the absurdity in yourself, you can get through a lot of things in life.’
Vera is on Sundays at 8pm on ITV, until 18 May.
For those who are already fans the format needs no explanation, for everyone else, it can be summed up as a good old-fashioned whodunnit. And like all our favourite detectives, she has a sidekick. In this case it’s bad boy turned good cop, Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth, beautifully played by Geordie actor David Leon.
The coastlines of the northeast, where most of the action takes place, are a long way from the actress’s childhood home in Ramsgate. Born Brenda Bottle, she was the youngest of nine children, in a working-class world. There was one cold tap in the house and no heating. When the family moved into a house with indoor plumbing, she used to marvel at the sound of the cistern filling. As a child she never imagined being an actress, grateful to get a job as a secretary for British Rail. It was there, in her early 20s, that she was asked to help with the Euston Players, British Rail’s now defunct am-dram society – three years later, she left for drama school. Coming to acting relatively late is something she feels has helped her during her career.
‘Some young people who haven’t had much interaction with others are brilliant, they’re just naturally brilliant actors. I needed that extra bit of knowing people and trying to understand people. It’s just storing things up. Just remembering and understanding situations you’re in or the way people would have reacted to something.’
Vera has been on our screens since 2011 and Brenda believes it gets better with each series – a fifth has already been commissioned. But equally, Vera is a difficult character to inhabit. Driven by her own demons (some of which may be revealed in this latest series), the grufftalking character isn’t the easiest person to work for. Despite that, Blethyn believes Vera makes a great boss.
‘I mean, I’m a working-class girl, I am really happy if I feel the directors and the producers are pleased with what I’m doing. And Vera’s staff would be pleased to think Vera was happy with what they’re doing.’
Once handed the script, is she tempted to flick to the back and find out who did it? ‘No, I never go straight to the end, I always read it, hoping that I’ll get the same experience that you’ll get from watching it. Otherwise I’ve got ammunition that the viewer doesn’t have.
‘I just want to go on that journey, see how intrigued I am by it. Sometimes I think, “Oh, I bet that’s where that’s going, got it.” But then I’m wrong.’
It’s helped that she used to have family in Northumberland, although having already mastered the accent for the previous three series, she still had to get back into doing it again.
‘If I’m working on it, it’s easy to slip back into it, especially when I’m up there. But I would do a bit of work on it before. I did loads of work to start with, because it’s not an easy one. But I don’t think about it now. It’s funny, of all the jobs I’ve done, this is the only one that I’m asked a lot about the accent; it’s because it’s notoriously difficult. People either think it’s brilliant or “Oh god, it’s dreadful!”’
Although opinions may be split, she had the locals fooled. ‘I asked a taxi driver to take me to my hotel and he said, “You look like that Vera.” I said, well I play Vera. He said he thought I was local. I was really pleased about that. When we film in a residential area, people come out with tables and chairs as if it’s teatime. They’ll say, “Come here Vera love.” And I’ll go over and have a cup of tea.
‘Once there was a gang of kids, they were so noisy, and we thought we would never get the scene shot. But then someone went over to them and they said, “Vera?” and then they shouted “We love Vera, we love Vera”. We asked if they could keep everybody quiet and they were like church mice. They would have ganged up on anyone who made a noise. It was so sweet.’
Brenda believes that Vera is a positive role model.
‘Women say to me, “It’s lovely having a woman telling all those men what to do.” I get that reaction from women who look like Vera, punching the air with joy, as she’s someone they can identify with, who’s in authority, without having to wear lipstick, or come off a catwalk.’ And that whatever else is happening, it’s important to laugh.
‘For me, laughing is vital. Mum and Dad fought like cat and dog, but they laughed more, and rows never lasted long. And that’s something my family do, just laugh. If you can see the absurdity in yourself, you can get through a lot of things in life.’
Vera is on Sundays at 8pm on ITV, until 18 May.