Brenda Blethyn compares herself to A Woman of Substance character: “I’m devoid of ambition”

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Brenda Blethyn plays the older, successful Emma Harte in Channel 4’s A Woman of Substance. Years earlier, Emma was dismissed as a maid by the Fairley family and dedicated her life to getting even with them.

This new eight-part series is based on Barbara Taylor Bradford’s 1979 novel and follows Emma’s life as she seeks revenge and works to improve things for her family.

Jessica Reynolds, known for her role in House of Guinness, plays the character, and Brenda Blethyn portrays an older version of her set in the 1970s. But do the actresses identify with the character of Emma?

During a discussion about her role in ‘A Woman of Substance,’ Blethyn shared that her character, Emma Hart, was a very determined planner, unlike herself. She explained she’s never been ambitious and has always been content with how things have turned out, feeling grateful for her good fortune in both life and work.

She continued, explaining that she needed to find inspiration for the role. To help, she studied some of Jessica’s previous work, hoping to adopt a similar way of moving or behaving. She even looked at old photos of herself at Jessica’s age and noticed they looked remarkably alike.

It’s surprising to think Blethyn lacks ambition, considering she led the popular ITV crime series Vera for an impressive 14 years.

This isn’t the first time Bradford’s popular novel has been turned into a TV series. The original Channel 4 adaptation remains the network’s most-watched program ever. The new series explores Emma’s life in even more detail, following her journey from a poor Yorkshire maid in the early 1900s to a successful businesswoman in the 1970s, as described by the show’s summary.

Abandoned after a wealthy lover betrayed her and she became pregnant, Emma dedicates her life to getting revenge on the family she once served – a family who dismissed her. Over the years, through love, hardship, war, and fierce determination, she gains influence, cleverly defeats her enemies, and ultimately controls her own fate.

My heart breaks thinking about Emma. She’s spent her whole life building something amazing, and now, as she’s getting older – she’s almost 80 – it’s all being threatened by people she should be able to trust: her own family. It’s just awful to see everything she’s worked for potentially falling apart because of betrayal from within.

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A Woman of Substance will premiere on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9pm on Channel 4.

Don’t miss ‘A Woman of Substance’! Add it to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app. Download the app now for daily TV suggestions, exclusive features, and more.

Authors

Morgan CormackDrama Writer

Morgan Cormack writes about TV and streaming drama for TopMob. Before that, she was an Entertainment Writer at Stylist. She also has experience in content marketing and freelancing, and holds a degree in English Literature.

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2026-03-11 15:09