‘I made cushion covers during LOCKDOWN'

Vera star Brenda Blethyn has a second string to her bow should acting work ever dry up

- SUE CRAWFORD

Like most of the rest of the nation, Brenda Blethyn suddenly found herself with time on her hands during last year’s lockdown.

Stranded at her home by the sea in Kent, with her husband 90 miles away in London, the popular actor worked her way through a list of chores and activities before deciding to turn creative.

Brenda, who has spent a decade playing DCI Vera Stanhope, says, ‘I took the dog for a walk every day. I cleared out all my cupboards, I tackled a pile of fan mail that had been sitting there for ages, and I made some stuff for the freezer and gardened.

‘I got myself a sewing machine and did some sewing, and made some covers for the big seats on the sofa. By the second lockdown, people had got wind of the cushion covers I’d made, so I took in orders!’

Brenda had only popped back to her Kent home to collect a few belongings with the plan of heading to the North East to start work on the 11th series of the hit ITV drama.

She recalls, ‘I was at the coast with my dog when lockdown happened. My husband being in London meant we were apart for about 12 weeks or so.’