{"id":395475,"date":"2026-01-28T18:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/395475\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T18:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:52:10","slug":"perhaps-i-will-cut-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/395475\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Perhaps I will cut back!&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brenda Blethyn has declared she has no intention of stepping away from acting as she approaches her 80th birthday next month.<\/p>\n<p>The award-winning performer, best known for portraying DCI Vera Stanhope in ITV&#8217;s long-running crime series, spoke about her future plans in a new interview, which was published just hours after she was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/celebrity\/baftas-2026-nominations-list-actors-snubs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">unceremoniously snubbed by the powers that be at Bafta<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Blethyn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/celebrity\/bafta-2026-longlist-nominations-anti-british\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">had been longlisted for her role in Dragonfly alongside nine other actresses<\/a> for the Supporting Actress gong earlier this month, but on Tuesday, it was confirmed she&#8217;d missed out on a nod.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Marty Supreme&#8217;s Odesse A&#8217;Zion, Sentimental Value&#8217;s Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sinners&#8217; Wunmi Mosaku, The Ballad of Wallis Island&#8217;s Carey Mulligan, One Battle After Another&#8217;s Teyana Taylor, and Hamnet&#8217;s Emily Watson, landed nominations.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"fa19a\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"618c0257e3e0af44f2d8bd3ca7bba601\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201132%20720'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/brenda-blethyn.jpg\" width=\"1132\" height=\"720\" alt=\"Brenda Blethyn\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Brenda Blethyn is best known for her role in Vera <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> PA<\/p>\n<p>Her Dragonfly co-star Andrea Riseborough fared no better. Despite being longlisted in the Actress category, she too missed out on a nomination.<\/p>\n<p>Hamnet&#8217;s Jessie Buckley looks a shoo-in for the gong, but faces opposition from If I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You&#8217;s Rose Byrne, Song Sung Blue&#8217;s Kate Hudson, One Battle After Another&#8217;s Chase Infiniti, Sentimental Value&#8217;s Renate Reinsve, and Bugonia&#8217;s Emma Stone.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, following the snub and 15 years in the iconic detective role of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/celebrity\/vera\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Vera<\/a>, Ms Blethyn has no plans to slow down and has even moved on to fresh projects, recently completing work on A Woman Of Substance, a new period drama for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/celebrity\/channel-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Channel 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m lucky to have been working all this time,&#8221; she told Prima Magazine.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"ca55e\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"0ac326847557d02b23ecae5af74a20ee\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%203333%205000'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769626329_337_brenda-blethyn.jpg\" width=\"3333\" height=\"5000\" alt=\"Brenda Blethyn\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Brenda Blethyn turns 80 this year <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> PA<\/p>\n<p>Despite her decades-long career spanning film, television, and theatre, Ms Blethyn confessed that self-doubt continues to affect her.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I suppose I&#8217;m someone with imposter syndrome,&#8221; she revealed. &#8220;I&#8217;m not as bad as I was, but I certainly had it when I was younger, and I wish I&#8217;d kicked that into touch.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The actress acknowledged that leaving behind her beloved detective character has been an adjustment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I miss the assuredness I had with Vera,&#8221; Ms Blethyn said, explaining that after so many years, she understood the character better than anyone else involved in the production.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"b60a3\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"979457082073ed7413f29867c5a00d79\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202000%202972'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769626329_204_brenda-blethyn.jpg\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2972\" alt=\"Brenda Blethyn\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Brenda Blethyn has addressed the possibility of retiring <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> PA<\/p>\n<p>She noted that guest writers would occasionally make errors because they hadn&#8217;t watched previous episodes.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite moving on to pastures new, Ms Blethyn remains happy to discuss her time on the show.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t mind still talking about Vera because I&#8217;m rather proud of her,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I had to do the show for so long \u2014 it was 15 years if you count back to the pilot. She&#8217;s like an old friend.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Turning her attention to potentially bringing her career to a halt, Ms Blethyn conceded the thought had crossed her mind.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"5fe40\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"b8c28f5a1600f9bed7a081fec86f2be2\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20495%20585'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/brenda-blethyn-s-bafta.jpg\" width=\"495\" height=\"585\" alt=\"Brenda Blethyn's bafta\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Brenda Blethyn missed out on a Bafta nod in the Supporting Actress field despite being longlisted <\/p>\n<p> | <\/p>\n<p> X<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In fact, when I was 65, I was thinking, &#8216;Do I retire now? Maybe that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m supposed to do?&#8217; And then Vera came along,&#8221; she explained.<\/p>\n<p>The role transformed her professional trajectory, keeping her busy for the following decade and a half.<\/p>\n<p>Now on the cusp of turning 80, the actress maintains she has no desire to leave the profession entirely.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now I&#8217;m nearly 80 and I&#8217;m not thinking about retiring at all \u2014 though perhaps I will cut back a bit and spend more time at home,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"f8bc2\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"3bfe5a0484cfe2ea661cd22fcf64f8c9\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%203677%202294'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/brenda-blethyn-s-vera.jpg\" width=\"3677\" height=\"2294\" alt=\"Brenda Blethyn's Vera\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ITV brought Vera to an end last year<\/p>\n<p> | ITV<\/p>\n<p>The full interview appears in the March edition of Prima, which is currently available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brenda Blethyn has declared she has no intention of stepping away from acting as she approaches her 80th&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[19972,6491,830,96,347,2331,56,54,55,35899],"class_list":["post-395475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-baftas","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity","tag-entertainment","tag-itv","tag-sgg","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-vera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}