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Brenda Blethyn has admitted that she is "dealing with some personal things" as she provided an update on her future career. Brenda, best known for her role as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in ITV's Vera - which she played for 14 years before her final appearance last year - has remained in demand, with no shortage of job offers. It may come as some surprise to the 80-year-old actress, who initially didn't think her phone "would ever ring" again. However, that clearly wasn't the case, as she noted it has been "off the hook".

Since parting ways with her role as Vera, Brenda has starred in Paul Andrew Williams' 2025 film Dragonfly and is currently featured in Channel 4's A Woman of Substance, based on the 1979 novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Speaking to Hello! magazine, Brenda said: "I didn't think the phone would ever ring, but it's been ringing off the hook. I didn't know this was going to happen."

In terms of the future, Brenda admitted that there is currently no work in the pipeline, although she has turned "some things down", citing "personal things".

In further comments to the outlet, she explained: "There's no work planned, but I've been turning some things down. I'm dealing with some personal things at the moment, with family."

Brenda admitted that she does have at least one professional hope - returning to her role for a second season of A Woman of Substance. She added: "I want to know what happens next!"

It comes after Brenda revealed earlier this year that her "idea of a holiday" would be returning to a much-loved seaside port town in Kent, which she considers her "happy place".

She told Prima magazine: "My work takes me away from home all the time, so my idea of a holiday is going home. Ramsgate is my happy place. My mum and dad were here for a long time, so I've always had some connection with the town."

Speaking last week about A Woman of Substance, in which she stars alongside Jessica Reynolds, Emmett J. Scanlan, Harry Cadby and Will Mellor, Brenda detailed how she has a personal connection to the story.

The series follows Emma Harte, who starts out as a kitchen maid before rising to become a department store magnate. Brenda explained the link on a recent episode of Lorraine.

She said: "Funnily enough, one of the reasons I was very interested in taking part was my mum started as a skivvy in a big rich house down in Kent around about the same time, maybe a few years after.

"That's where she met my dad, who was the chauffeur. My dad was born in 1894s, it's just reminiscent of that and I used to love hearing their stories."