Brenda Blethyn can't imagine ever facing final curtain 'being 75 won't slow me down'

The 75-year-old Vera star said: “My parents worked until their dying days, and I fully expect to be doing the same. “Mum had about six jobs to put food on the table and Dad spent the latter part of his life working as a handyman. They instilled that work ethic in me. “I enjoy being busy, too, so I’ll always find something to do – even if it’s painting a wall!”

Brenda, who celebrated her 75th birthday earlier this year, added: “If I’m honest, I don’t feel the slightest bit different. You’re only as old as you feel, and I certainly don’t feel 75.”

Brenda said the landscape is gradually changing for older performers: “I do think it’s becoming more inclusive, not before time.”

During lockdown she has been filming the 11th series of award-winning ITV drama Vera, in which she plays the eccentric detective.

It is set to return to screens with six feature-length episodes – the first two due to be broadcast before summer.

The remaining four episodes are still being filmed and are scheduled to appear next year.

Filming has kept her away from her husband, former art director Michael Mayhew, but Brenda told Good Housekeeping: “They say absence makes the heart grow fonder – well, it’s true!

“Being apart seems to keep us together.”

● Read the full interview with Brenda Blethyn in the May issue of Good Housekeeping on sale the 7^th of April. It is available in all supermarkets and online at MagsDirect.