Brenda Blethyn, 78, opens up on personal health struggle as ITV Vera star admits ‘I spent my life suffering’
Brenda Blethyn has bravely opened up about an intimate struggle she’s had to contend with throughout her career ahead of Vera’s swansong.
The 78-year-old has played fan-favourite detective DCI Vera Stanhope for just shy of a decade and a half and in the New Year, she’ll be hanging up her famous Mac for good.
“Finishing any job after 14 years is a huge decision, but I wanted to spend more time with my husband,” Blethyn explained in a recent interview when addressing the decision to say goodbye.
“And [her pet dog] Jack. None of us is getting any younger. I don’t want to travel, I just want to be at home.”
However, this doesn’t mean it’s the last fans have seen of Blethyn as she added to Radio Times: “Which isn’t to say I’m retiring – I said yes to making a film with Andrea Riseborough almost as soon as I finished Vera.”
Fans will have to tune into the finale double-bill to see what challenges DCI Stanhope has to contend with but Blethyn also touched upon a battle of her own she’s faced while filming over the years.
She told the publication: “It’s better since I’ve been doing Vera, but I’ve spent my life suffering from impostor syndrome.
“Because, at the end of the day. I’ll always just be Brenda from Ramsgate.”
According to the British Medical Association, imposter syndrome is described as “a feeling of inadequacy that persists despite evidence of success”.
The BMA adds: “This sensation of chronic self-doubt can feel both undermining and isolating with individuals describing sensations of fraudulence, which over a prolonged period can act as a significant contributor to burnout.”
First look! 👀
The hat is on for one last time 👒#Vera: The Final Season, New Year’s Day on @ITV
Produced by Silverprint pictures, part of #ITVStudios pic.twitter.com/6iHLd7vgKj
— ITV Studios (@itvstudios) December 6, 2024
Elsewhere in her RT interview, Blethyn also admitted she had a “lump in her throat” and was “choked up” during the final day of filming.
However, speaking exclusively to GB News at September’s National Television Awards, Blethyn admitted that in the months after filming, she was able to look back without sadness.
“I’m not sad because I’m so happy to have done it and I’m just so happy to work with all these wonderful people,” she told the People’s Channel.
“The producers and directors are coming up the rear here, I mean, it was such a happy time. So we’ll be friends forever.”
When asked if it was a “difficult” conundrum to call time on the series, Blethyn explained to GB News: “Not really, because I was away from home for six months every year. And after 14 years, you know…”
Blethyn was similarly full of praise for her Vera comrades when she first announced her departure back in April 2024.
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Releasing a heartfelt statement at the time, Blethyn said: “Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying Cheerio.
“But I am so proud of our achievements over the last 14 years. I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role.
“The producers, dream cast, and crew have been fabulous and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the North East, and our fans worldwide.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she poignantly signed off.