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HALLO VERA, YOU’RE BACK
Nine series in, Brenda Blethyn’s dowdy detective is finally forced to dredge up her family history
Brenda Blethyn, returning as the Geordie detective for a ninth series, reveals that this time her past may come back to haunt her
Swapping her immaculately coiffed hair and beautiful chiffon blouses for a shapeless mac and that trademark green hat, Brenda Blethyn returns for a ninth series of Vera this week, playing dogged Geordie crime-fighter
DCI Vera Stanhope. And as far as Brenda’s concerned, it’s this ‘make- under’ that endears
Vera to her millions of fans.
‘People relate to her, she’s ordinary,’ says the 72-year-old actress, who’s her usual chic self today in a leopard- print blouse and black trousers. ‘She’s not a fashionista, not reliant on lipstick. She’s got a brain and she gets the job done. She’s not to be written off because she’s scruffy and overweight. There are a lot of women like Vera out there who are capable and independent. They don’t have to have a fella in tow. There should be more women like her on TV.’
Vera’s can-do attitude and lack of vanity have kept viewers flocking back since the first series in 2011, drawn in by the dowdy detective who always cracks the compelling cases based on author Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope novels. Another pull is Brenda’s classy performance – hardly surprising when you think she’s a two-time Oscar nominee who’s been in demand on both sides of the Atlantic for decades, starring in classics like A River Runs Through It (1992), Secrets & Lies (1996) and Little Voice (1998).
She admits her life is pretty much taken over by Vera, which she films for six months of the year. In fact she was even considering retirement when the part came her way a decade ago. ‘It is gruelling, but I do what anyone would who has something taxing to do,’ reasons Brenda. ‘Make sure you go to bed early, probably knock wine on the head and make sure you’ve done your homework.’
The ninth series opens with the usual gruesome murder – a young woman’s body, riddled with stab wounds, is found in landfill. Vera, who’s again joined by Kenny Doughty as her sidekick DS Aiden Healy, Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart and Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline Williams, learns that the victim, Joanne Carswell, was a promising trainee forensic pathologist and there is no obvious motive for her murder. Once that one is solved, the series progresses through three more cases in which we’ll learn more about Vera’s private life, especially in the final fourth episode, based on Ann Cleeves’ latest novel The Seagull. When excavations for a new nightclub in Whitley Bay churn up a skeleton, Vera has a hunch she knows who it is. ‘Vera knows that somebody who went to a club on this site disappeared 20 years ago – back then the club was run by shady characters who were friends with Vera’s father,’ explains Brenda. ‘It’s a journey for her to unravel that one, because she wouldn’t want to share that information about her father with anyone.’
Refreshingly, Brenda is more open about her personal life. She dotes on her other half, Michael Mayhew, a graphic designer she married in 2010 after 30 years together. She says with a hoot ‘the secret of our relationship is I hardly see him!’ as she spends so much time away filming Vera in Northumberland, while Michael stays at their homes in London and Ramsgate, her hometown.
She provides unexpected insights into her relationship with Michael, claiming humour binds them together. ‘Laughter is the secret to everything. A sense of humour is so important. His humour is very dry.’ And it appears Michael also has a romantic side. ‘Mike is always buying me presents,’ says Brenda. ‘On lots of occasions he’s just surprised me with, “I saw this, I thought you’d like it.”
‘He got me a new computer out of the blue. And this morning I saw some therapeutic bath salts sitting in my bathroom. I thought, “Where did they come from? Michael must have bought them.” He thinks about me a lot. It’s nice, isn’t it?’
Brenda even claims to love Michael’s brutal honesty. ‘If he doesn’t like what I’m wearing, he’ll say so,’ she says. ‘Once I was going to present at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles and a beautiful Armani outfit was delivered to me. I popped it on the night before and Michael said, “Oh Bren, you can’t wear that!” I was leaving for LA at the crack of dawn! He said, “You’ll arrive early, buy something else.” So I did. I value his honesty.’
The stars aligned in favour of their union, as far as Brenda is concerned. She and Michael share the same star signs as her beloved parents, William and Louisa Bottle, a chauffeur and a cleaner, who were together for 60 years. ‘My dad was Pisces, like me, and Michael is Taurus like my mum, and they’re both very loyal people,’ says Brenda with a hint of pride. ‘My dad was easy-going and wasn’t hampered with ambition, and nor am I.’
Brenda says she doesn’t really believe in astrology but she feels this astrological connection is a positive one. It’s a surprise to hear Brenda say she’s unhampered by ambition though. How can anyone who’s achieved her level of success – two Oscar nominations, as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe awards – get there without ambition?
‘I’m just lucky,’ she insists. ‘I don’t hanker after any role. The only job I ever wished for and wasn’t getting was Mrs Bennet in Pride & Prejudice.’ Originally, she explains, someone else was cast as Jane Austen’s matriarch in the 2005 movie starring Keira Knightley. ‘I was disappointed for two minutes,’ says Brenda. ‘No, for seconds! C’est la vie. What’s the point?!’ She did land the role – just before filming started – and gave a definitive performance.
‘I’m lucky I have that attitude. What’s that quote, about having the courage to change the things you can and accept the things you can’t? That’s me.’ She’s referring to the Serenity Prayer, which states ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’
There’s little she’d change about Vera, although she finds it dispiriting that characters like her are still a rarity. ‘It shouldn’t be extraordinary that there’s this older woman on TV,’ sighs Brenda. ‘It should be the norm.’ Few would disagree. Vicki Power Vera, tomorrow, 8pm, ITV.
‘There were shady characters who were friends of her father’