Brenda Blethyn and her A Woman of Substance co-star Jessica Reynolds have revealed the emotional and unexpectedly “romantic” moment they first met while filming the Channel 4 drama.
The pair play different stages of the same character, the formidable businesswoman Emma Harte, in the new eight-part adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s bestselling novel.
Speaking to GB News and other outlets at a screening and Q&A for the series, Ms Blethyn recalled the striking circumstances of their first encounter on set.
“I first met Jess at dusk,” she said. “It was a very misty evening up on the moors.”
Ms Blethyn explained she had travelled to the set ahead of filming her own scenes, while Ms Reynolds had just finished shooting.
“We’d never met before and Jessica came out of the house that was Emma’s home,” she said.
“We sort of looked at each other across the mist and went, ‘Emma!’”
The moment quickly became emotional for the cast and crew watching.
Jessica Reynolds almost turned down the lead role in the Channel 4 drama | CHANNEL 4
“They were both in costume, and it was a real kind of moment,” lead writer Katherine Jakeways added. “It felt quite resonant for all of us.”
Ms Reynolds admitted the meeting felt special for her too, particularly knowing she was portraying the younger version of a character Ms Blethyn would later bring to life.
“It was an absolute honour,” the actress said.
“I know it’s easy to tell a story, but it really did feel quite romantic.”
Brenda Blethyn on the set of A Woman of Substance | CHANNEL 4
She continued: “There was mist, and I think there might even have been a storm or something.”
The actress added that despite the emotional significance of the meeting, the two actresses barely exchanged words.
“We didn’t say much,” she said. “We just gave each other a big hug and a nod.”
Ms Reynolds said sharing the role with Ms Blethyn made the experience even more meaningful.
“It was beautiful. It was a privilege,” she said.
The new series tells the sweeping rags-to-riches story of Emma Harte, beginning with her teenage years as a kitchen maid in Yorkshire before charting her rise to become one of the richest women in the world.
The project marks Ms Blethyn’s return to television following the end of her long-running ITV crime drama Vera, in which she played Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope for 14 years.
Meanwhile, Ms Reynolds revealed she almost didn’t audition for the role of Emma after initially doubting she was the right fit.
She said: “It came across just as a self-tape, and I suppose being Irish and having this voice, when I first saw it, I thought no one’s going to want me as this person.”
However, after reading the scripts more closely she realised the scale of the story and decided to pursue the part.