Brenda Blethyn gives an update on upcoming series of Vera

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Brenda Blethyn, 76, is back on our screens tonight for another episode of the sitcom ‘Kate & Koji’. The veteran English actress plays café owner Kate in the ITV series, which returned for a second season this month. The retro comedy revolves around the friendship between Kate and asylum-seeking African doctor Koji. Set in the Essex resort of Seagate, the programme pokes fun at modern Britain, including celebrities and the Royal Family.

In the second installment of this season Kate sprains her ankle and lets Koji take over the cooking.

Meanwhile, her nephew ‘Medium’ Dan, who works as a decorator, tries to get feedback on his new novel.

Besides playing Kate, Brenda is best known for her role in ITV’s long running crime drama ‘Vera’.

The actress stars as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in the show, which is inspired by the Ann Cleeves books.

Brenda once admitted she was terrified of her no-nonsense character, who she said, “Scares her to death”.

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The star spoke to presenter Lorraine Kelly for her regular morning chat show in February 2019.

Lorraine played clips of some of Vera’s fiercest moments to Brenda, who said: “She scares me to death.”

She added: “I wouldn’t like to come up against her that is for sure. Oh, I love playing her. It is an absolute gift.”

The pair laughed as Lorraine called Vera – with her trademark floppy hat – a “style icon”.

Brenda replied: “The things she wears are very nice, she just doesn’t look in a mirror. She just throws it all together.”

The presenter also asked Brenda for her opinion on the Academy Awards, which saw Olivia Colman scoop the gong for Best Actress.

Brenda praised her fellow British star, saying her maiden Oscar win for ‘The Favourite’ had “come at the right time for her”.

Ever the charismatic interviewee, Brenda also shared her own remarkable story of rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood elite.

The star has attended the annual award ceremony twice after being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for ‘Little Voice’ and ‘Secrets & Lies’ in the Nineties.

She recalled a memory of chatting to fellow British stalwart Sir Michael Caine about feeling like a fish out of water at the Oscars.

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She said: “It is like another world. When you first go it is weird. You see all these people you have seen in films for years.

“I remember being at a party and everyone from Hollywood was at this party. Everybody was there.

“And my eyes are coming out on stalks, and I was out in the garden, and I was sat at a table.

“I was squashed between Sean Connery and Michael Caine with a glass of Champagne.

“I thought, ‘Is this happening? Brenda from Ramsgate.’”

She added: “I started laughing and Michael says, ‘What are you laughing at?’ and I told him, and he said, ‘I know, I’m from King’s Cross.”

‘Kate & Koji’ airs on ITV tonight from 9pm.

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