Having bid farewell to Vera’s old mac, Brenda Blethyn is embracing power-dressing as Emma Harte, the formidable tycoon at the heart of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s novels

The Vera star on her glam new role… Spanning six decades, A Woman of Substance, adapted from Barbara Taylor Bradford’s 1979 bestseller, charts the rise of Emma Harte from impoverished maid to the worl

Sharon D Clarke reveals the roles that have enabled her to unleash her true self

When Brenda Blethyn quit playing beloved sleuth DCI Vera Stanhope aged 78, she had dreams of relaxing at home with her husband Michael Mayhew. Luckily for us, things didn’t work out that way and just

D avid Bradley boasts a storied six-decade career, playing an intimidating list of “grouchy and malicious” characters, including the dastardly Walder Frey in Game of Thrones and a gun-wielding farmer

Playing murder detectives takes its toll, says Eve Myles , but luckily her husband is always on hand with a big glass of wine