Blethyn's Vera is more attractive but still frumpy and clearly a far cry from the actress herself5️⃣ who is a glamorous figure off-camera - or outside of Vera anyway. And the petite actress had to don padding5️⃣ and bulky clothing for her role as the sturdy sleuth.

As Brenda Blethyn was born5️⃣ in 1946, she appears to be much older than the character she is playing and someone in their 70s would5️⃣ have long since retired from the police force. However, in Silent Voices (2012), it is revealed that Vera Stanhope was5️⃣ aged 10 in 1963, making Blethyn only seven years older than Vera.