A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE - CATCHING UP WITH STARS JESSICA REYNOLDS and BLENDA BLETHYN

The new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s best-selling novel, A Woman of Substance, is coming to BritBox!

Based on a bestselling novel of the same name by author Barbara Taylor Bradford, A Woman of Substance was first a popular miniseries of the 1980s.  

This new iteration coming to BritBox on June 24 stars Brenda Blethyn (Vera, Little Voice) and Jessica Reynolds (House of Guinness, Outlander) as the two versions of the iconic character Emma Harte – a housemaid turned-mogul, daughter, mother, lover, fighter and a 20th century feminist icon who refused to know her ‘place’.

The series finds Emma in 1911, an impoverished ambitious maid in Yorkshire, England, who goes on a dizzying journey to become the world’s richest woman, gazing down from a sprawling luxury New York penthouse. A rags-to-riches tale of women through the 20th century, Emma defies the expectations of her society, fearlessly challenging the roles she's given, smashing glass ceilings, and never, ever deviating from her masterplan: Get to the top. Whatever it takes.

Brenda Blethyn is a Golden Globe-winning and Oscar- and Emmy- nominated actress well-known for portraying the iconic detective, Vera. She starred in the Mike Leigh film Secrets & Lies (1996), which earned her a Cannes Film Festival Award for best actress as well as an Oscar nomination. She was also Oscar-nominated for her role in Little Voice (1998). Her other notable film credits include A River Runs Through It (1992), Pride & Prejudice (2005), and Atonement (2007).

Jessica Reynolds most recently starred in Rich Peppiatt's Kneecap alongside Michael Fassbender, nominated for six BAFTAs and winner of the 2024 BIFA for Best British Independent Film, and in Steven Knight's House of Guiness for Netflix. She recently wrapped production on David Turpin's feature Ancestors, alongside Jack Wolfe, Éanna Hardwicke and Rupert Everett.

Jessica's notable credits include 'Malva Christie' in the sixth season of Outlander (Starz) alongside Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe, the beloved comedy series Derry Girls for Channel 4 and Netflix, and her film debut in the title role of The Curse Of Audrey Earnshaw (Gate 67 Films) for director Thomas Robert Lee. Further credits include the BBC comedy-drama My Left Nut and the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Lyric Belfast.

A Woman of Substance premieres Wednesday, June 24th on Britbox

I spoke with stars Jessica Reynolds and Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn about playing Emma Harte and working on this glorious series.