BRENDA BACK IN A DIFFERENT HAT

Vera favourite to feature in top Channel 4 drama

- BY NICOLA METHVEN

WHEN Brenda Blethyn quit Vera after 14 years, she insisted she was not retiring - so it is no surprise she has bagged another big lead role.

The 79-year-old will star in an eight-part adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s iconic novel A Woman of Substance for Channel 4.

Brenda features alongside Jessica Reynolds, who plays the younger version of her character Emma Harte.