Brenda Blethyn recently left her iconic role of DCI Vera Stanhope after an incredible 14 years.
Hit ITV show Vera was based on the Vera Stanhope novels by Ann Cleeves and ran for 14 series. During the show's run it brought in incredible audiences of up to 9 million, but sadly ended with a touching final showing Vera deciding it was time to hang up her handbag and retire after solving her final case.
"I loved the job," Blythen said. "I was proud of it and I felt like I had a command of the character.
"I am somebody with impostor syndrome – I do sometimes think, 'Have I earned the right to be here?' – but with Vera, I overcame that because I knew I was on top of it."
The actor announced she was leaving the role last year, saying: "It was a hard decision and come March when I would normally be getting ready to go back up there, I'll probably be crying.
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"As much as I loved all that, I've got a family at home and I realised I hadn't had a summer for 14 years with my family.
"So I still did another series because I couldn't drag myself away," she added. "But anyway it was time, that's all."
Blethyn also opened up about her home life with husband Michael Mayhew.
She has been with the art director since 1975, and married him in 2010. But she added there's a secret to keeping their marriage strong – not living together.
The actor revealed that the pair live in the same building, but in different flats.
“My husband lives upstairs," she told The Telegraph. "We moved into this very nice flat in Ramsgate and I’d be saying, ‘Can I open a window, it’s very hot in here?’ And he’d say, ‘No, it’s freezing.’
"And after a while, I said, ‘Is that flat downstairs still vacant?’ So I moved downstairs. It works brilliantly. We eat together. We go out together. We live together, but in different apartments."
She added: "I’m a LAT (Living Apart Together). It’s got a lot to say for itself. Having your own space to be able to choose what you want to listen to on the radio or to watch on the TV, or if you want your friends round.
"And also, when I’ve got somewhere I have to go, like today, I took Jack upstairs, my dog, and he’s with Michael."
Vera seasons one to three are streaming now on Disney+.
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Catherine is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, and was the site's News Editor between 2018 and 2024. Prior to that, she worked at OK! Online, and has interviewed a slew of celebrities across her career in entertainment news, including Tom Hanks, Cheryl and Noel Fielding. Catherine also has specialist knowledge in all things drag, interviewing a huge portion of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars, and getting her own drag makeover for Channel 4's show Drag SOS. LinkedIn
