![\"Brenda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/brenda-blethyn.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBrenda Blethyn has taken a swipe at difficult actors in the industry, joking those with bad habits are unlikely to last long in showbusiness.<\/p>\n
The 80-year-old actress made the remark while speaking at a special screening and Q&A for Channel 4\u2019s new drama A Woman of Substance, in which she plays the older version of Emma Harte.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on her decades-long career, Ms Blethyn suggested that being easy to work with has been one of the keys to her longevity in the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m quite nice to work with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brenda Blethyn took a swipe at difficult actors in the industry<\/p>\n
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GETTY<\/p>\n
\u201cWho wants to work with someone horrible? You don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Vera star went on to jokingly list some of the less appealing qualities actors might bring to a set.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere could be equally talented people, but one might have halitosis, one might be a kleptomaniac, and one might turn up late,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m none of those things. I turn up clean. I know my lines usually. And I\u2019ve been lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Brenda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/brenda-blethyn.png\")
The veteran actress said she believes she is easy to work with<\/p>\n
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CHANNEL 4<\/p>\n
Ms Blethyn was speaking as she promotes the upcoming eight-part adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford\u2019s bestselling novel.<\/p>\n
The drama follows Emma from her teenage years as a kitchen maid in Yorkshire to becoming one of the richest women in the world.<\/p>\n
Jessica Reynolds plays the younger Emma, while Ms Blethyn portrays the character later in life as she oversees her vast business empire.<\/p>\n
Ms Blethyn admitted she had never approached her own career with the same level of ambition as her character.<\/p>\n
![\"Brenda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/brenda-blethyn-and-u200bjessica-reynolds.jpg\")
Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds at the Channel 4 screening in London<\/p>\n
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GETTY<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma Harte had this plan with a capital P,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never had a plan. I\u2019m devoid of ambition. I\u2019ve always been fairly happy with my lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite recently celebrating her 80th birthday, the actress also insisted she has no intention of slowing down any time soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the job. I love working,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even think about 80 as being anything in particular. People say, \u2018How does it feel?\u2019 Well, it just feels normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Blethyn also revealed she could personally relate to Emma\u2019s story of overcoming hardship, as her own family experienced poverty growing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum started life as a skivvy in a big house down in Kent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where she met my dad \u2014 he was a chauffeur.<\/p>\n
![\"Brenda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773247390_108_brenda-blethyn.png\")
Brenda Blethyn on the set of A Woman of Substance<\/p>\n
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CHANNEL 4<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used to tell me loads of stories about how hard the work was, for very little pay. When she left she would work three or four jobs a day to make ends meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Ms Reynolds admitted she almost didn\u2019t audition for the role of Emma, initially doubting she was right for the part.<\/p>\n
The Irish actress said she worried casting directors might not see her as the character, describing Emma as a \u201cclassic English rose\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, after reading the scripts more closely she changed her mind, saying the story felt far bigger than a typical period drama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brenda Blethyn has taken a swipe at difficult actors in the industry, joking those with bad habits are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,830,1633,96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-469960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity","tag-channel-4","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469960","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=469960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}