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.
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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 7th of April. It is available in all supermarkets and online at MagsDirect.
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