Brenda Blethyn fans floored after finding out Vera star's real age
The One Show vewers were left stunned when guest Brenda Blethyn disclosed her actual age.
The actress - who is known for playing Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in the long-running ITV crime drama Vera - celebrated a milestone birthday in February, turning 80. However, fans struggled to believe her age given her youthful appearance when she was onthe BBC programme on Thursday (March 5).
Brenda joined the show to discuss her forthcoming television series A Woman of Substance, yet numerous viewers found themselves distracted by how she looked, with many sharing their thoughts on social media, reports Wales Online.
One viewer wrote on X, which was previously Twitter: "No way is Brenda Blethyn 80! She looks amazing for her age."
"Brenda looks great for being 80," another person commented, whilst a different viewer stated: "Love Brenda."
"Brenda Blethyn looks AMAZING. How can she be 80?!" questioned another astonished fan, as someone else observed: "Brenda looks good for 80."
"Brenda Blethyn is 80!!!!! No way!!!!" another viewer exclaimed, whilst one wrote: "Brenda is so great isn't she, well I think so anyway."
The actress discussed reaching the milestone during her interview on The One Show, after presenter Alex Jones referenced her "big birthday".
"Oh yes, I was recently 80," she confirmed as Alex and co-host Roman Kemp extended birthday wishes to the star.
"Did you do something lovely?" Alex asked. "I went out for a meal, but my friend says we've got to do 80 celebrations," Brenda revealed. "But then we thought that was a bit extreme, so we're going to do it in decades. So we're going to do eight special things."
Alex expressed her fondness for the idea, and Roman asked her: "I was going to say, you do that for every one of your birthdays don't you?"
Channel 4's A Woman of Substance is based on the bestselling novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford. It tells the story of Emma Harte, a housemaid who becomes a tycoon. Brenda portrays the older Emma, whilst actress Jessica Reynolds plays the character in her youth.
The cast also features Emmett J Scanlan, Lydia Leonard and Leanne Best.
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The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays