ITV Vera star Brenda Blethyn's 35-year engagement after devastating divorce

As the last ever episode of ITV's long-running crime drama Vera airs tonight, the Mirror takes a look at much-loved actress Brenda Blethyn's life away from the cameras

Tonight is the final time Brenda Blethyn will appear on our TV screens as DCI Vera Stanhope.

The TV legend joined ITV's long-running crime drama Vera in 2011, and now, the series is coming to an end after 14 years. Oscar-nominated actress Brenda, 78, has said she is "sad to be saying Cheerio" but is incredibly proud of the cast's achievements over the last 14 series.

"I'll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role," Brenda said in an emotional statement last year. As the last episode unravels, the Mirror takes a look at the actress' life away from the cameras.

Who is Brenda Blethyn?

Brenda Blethyn is a British actress who was born and raised in Ramsgate, Kent. She was born in February 1946 and is the youngest of nine children. Her mother, Louisa, was a maid and her father, William, was a chauffeur who worked as a mechanic before World War II.

Brenda was introduced to the magic of acting by her parents who would take her to the cinema as a child. She enjoyed performing in an amateur dramatics club, but went on to study at the Guilford School of Acting. Her career soon took off as she won roles on stage, landing parts with the Royal National Theatre in the mid-1970s.

After winning the London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1980 for her performance in the Nell Dunn play Steaming, she landed her first on-screen role in the play Grown Ups as part of the BBC's Playhouse strand - and directed by Mike Leigh. She then starred in a range of TV shows and films including the political satire show Yes Minister, Roald Dahl's The Witches, and Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice.

She has won Best Actress at Cannes, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Cynthia Rose Purley in the 1996 drama Secrets & Lies. She was also appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in the 2003 New Year Honours.

Is Brenda Blethyn married?

Brenda has been married twice, having first married a graphic designer named Alan James Blethyn in 1964 when she was just 19 years old, before which point she'd led a rather sheltered life when it came to matters of the heart. Opening up during a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Brenda shared: "My brothers looked after me and protected me from predators – so well that I was quite innocent sexually when I came to marry for the first time at 19."

Sadly, just nine years after saying 'I do', Brenda and Alan parted ways, after he allegedly found love elsewhere. While the marriage did not last and ended in 1973, the actress kept her first husband's last name as her stage name - replacing her maiden name of Brenda Bottle.

Showing no hard feelings toward her former spouse, Brenda, revealed: "My first husband, Alan Blethyn, just fell for someone else. I was devastated when he left, but he really was a lovely fella – and the other lady is nice too. It was just one of those things."

She then started dating British art director Michael Mayhew in 1975, and they were together for decades before getting married. After essentially having a 35-year engagement, the couple finally tied the knot in 2010 - after deciding it would be 'the sensible thing to do'.

Brenda explained to the Radio Times in 2021: "We were getting on a bit and it seemed the sensible thing to do. Neither of us were going anywhere so it just presents a problem if one of us pops our clogs."

The actress has shared her words of wisdom for a happy marriage, after lightheartedly reflecting that she and Michael have 'so little in common'. Speaking with the Mail Online back in 2014, Brenda said: "I genuinely think it's about having our own space. We have a place on the coast in my hometown of Ramsgate in Kent, and even when we're there we sit in separate rooms, Michael with his music in one, me with my crossword in another.

"We have so little in common but the relationship obviously works. Michael makes me laugh like nobody else does, and I think he likes me for my honesty and my kindness."

Where does Brenda Blethyn live?

Brenda and her husband Michael live mainly in Kent, with the actress ending up spending months away from home to film Vera in the North East of England as it is filmed in Newcastle upon Tyne and throughout Northumberland. The couple live in their Kent home with their beloved cockapoo dog, Jack.

The couple also have a home in London - and Michael ended up spending part of lockdown in the capital away from the star. Brenda explained previously: "My husband was in London and he couldn't come down, so we were apart. Apart from living in London I also have a home in Ramsgate [and] I was there gathering my last bits and pieces to take up to Newcastle with me for filming when the lockdown happened, so I couldn't go home."

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