‘She’s let herself go, she’s aged so much’: how these words became Brenda Blethyn’s ‘biggest compliment’

Brenda Blethyn attends the "Gerry & Sewell" gala night at Aldwych Theatre — (Image credit: Jordan Peck/Getty Images)

Brenda Blethyn speaks with the level of openness about personal topics that you'd expect from the Vera icon.

She's been very candid about the reasons she lives separately from her husband, and why she chose not to have children.

"They couldn't have paid me a better compliment," Brenda explains of the people who spoke so brusquely about her, adding, "I never, ever think about how I look for a part."

The actress says she doesn't ever see herself on the screen, only ever the characters she's playing.

"I see that lady who's got no friends, who's living hand to mouth, whose daughter doesn't like her."

"There are lots of people like Cynthia in Secrets & Lies and it's the same with Dragonfly. I see that poor woman, not me," she says.

Maintaining a refusal to live by societal norms or be judged about anything from her appearance to when she chooses to retire, Brenda has also weighed in on continuing to work past retirement age.

"I'm lucky to have been working all this time," she shares, adding that thoughts of retiring crossed her mind at 65, "and then Vera came along."

"Now I'm 80 and not thinking about retiring at all," she continues, concluding, "though perhaps I will cut back a bit and spend more time at home."

Brenda concludes, "If I reach a little bit higher, I can maybe get something else I want, but if I don't, that's no problem. I'm devoid of ambition, I've never wanted the moon and stars."

Lucy is a multi-award nominated writer and blogger with seven years’ experience writing about entertainment, parenting and family life. Lucy worked as a freelance writer and journalist at the likes of PS and moms.com, before joining GoodtoKnow as an entertainment writer, and then as news editor. The pull to return to the world of television was strong, and she was delighted to take a position at woman&home to once again watch the best shows out there, and tell you why you should watch them too.

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