Newly minted lead performer Jessica Reynolds and legendary veteran Brenda Blethyn have their work cut out for them in the series A Woman of Substance, premiering this week on BritBox after opening to stellar ratings in the UK earlier in the year.
It’s no small feat adapting one of the most widely read series of novels in British literary history, spun off from Barbara Taylor Bradford’s tales of love, struggle, revenge, family ties, inequality, and recognizing one’s own self-worth; a generational run of bestsellers that kicked off in 1979. On top of that, A Woman of Substance (named after the first in Bradford’s series) was already made into a beloved television adaptation in 1985, starring Jenny Seagrove, Deborah Kerr, Barry Bostwick, and a young Liam Neeson. That series remains the highest rated broadcast in the history of Channel 4 in the UK.
It’s a story that takes place in two different eras, but revolves around the same remarkable woman, Emma Harte, played by both Reynolds and Blethyn. Reynolds stars as Emma in the early 1900s, working as a maid and servant for the ultra-wealthy Fairley family in Yorkshire. Emma is treated and worked like a dog, but she finds solace in a forbidden attraction to kindly son, Edwin, played by Ewan Horrocks. Blethyn plays Emma in the 1970s, and by that time, Harte is a brand name; the richest woman in the world. But even as her empire begins to crumble and it seems like her own children are conspiring against her, Emma’s grudge towards the still influential Fairly family remains intact.
We were able to spend a few minutes chatting with Reynolds (who viewers might remember from Kneecap and House of Guinness) and Blethyn (Vera, Secrets and Lies, Little Voice, The Witches) to talk about A Woman of Substance, coordinating their characters in different eras, the difference between one’s value and one’s worth, and what they relate to in their characters.
The first two episodes of A Woman of Substance are now streaming on BritBox, with a new episode each Wednesday.
