Channel 4 has announced a brand new adaptation of A Woman of Substance, their "biggest ever drama" from 40 years ago, which will star Brenda Blethyn in her first TV role since she hung up her bucket hat and trench coat in the Vera finale earlier this year.
Based on the bestselling domestic fiction and romance book by Barbara Taylor Bradford, this eight-part revenge romp centres around "a housemaid-turned-mogul, daughter, mother, lover, fighter and a 20th century feminist icon who refused to know her ‘place’".
What is A Woman of Substance about?
Here's the official synopsis from Channel 4: "We meet the magnetic Emma Harte in 1911, as an impoverished, ambitious maid in Yorkshire, England, and follow her irresistible and dizzying climb to become the world’s richest woman, gazing down on her sprawling empire from a luxury New York penthouse."
"The background to Emma Harte’s rags-to-riches rise is the tale of women through the 20th century, as 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."
Cast of a Woman of Substance
In the original adaptation of this rags-to-riches story, Emma was played by Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr.
These are the famous faces joining the cast of A Woman of Substance for its latest reimagining:
• Brenda Blethyn (Vera, Secrets & Lies) as Emma Harte
• Jessica Reynolds (Outlander, My Left Nut) as young Emma Harte
• Emmett J Scanlan (Kin, The Tower) as Adam Fairley
• Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack, Quacks) as Olivia Wainwright
• Sophie Bould (Call The Midwife) as Elizabeth Harte
• Leanne Best (The Bay, Line of Duty) as Adele Fairley
• Will Mellor (Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Line of Duty) as Jack Harte
• Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?, Dodger) as Frank Harte
• Ewan Horrocks (Domina, The Last Kingdom) as Edwin Fairley
• Harry Cadby (Dope Girls, Everything Now) as Gerald Fairley
• Niall Wright (Hope Street, Dani's Castle) as Mac
• Robert Wilfort (Gavin & Stacey, Wolf Hall) as Murgatroyd
• Toby Regbo (Platform 7, Mr. Nobody) as Jim Fairley
• Hiftu Quasem (Endeavour, Killing Eve) as Priya Chandra
• Georgina Sadler (The A List, Boarders) as Polly
A Woman of Substance book
First published in 1979, Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance has gone on to sell millions of copies.
Television writers Katherine Jakeways and Roanne Bardsley, who have recently brought The Buccaneers from page to screen, are bringing this series (back) to life.
AmazonArabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, cinema trips, playing board games and walking her three dogs.