After Dinner Speakers: Brenda Blethyn, Lee Evans, Heather Couper

Brenda Blethyns British television career started in 1980 when she appeared in the BBC2's playhouse presentation of Mike Leigh's Grown-Ups, this was followed with appearances in the comedy series Yes Minister, Alas Smith and Jones and Who Dares Wins. From 1990 Brenda made a number of film appearances including a Golden Globe and Bafta winning performance as Cynthia Rose Purley in Mike Leigh's Secret's and Lies, a role for which she also gained an Oscar nomination. She received a further nomination for Little Voice, alongside Michael Caine in 1998 and was further rewarded for her television performance in the comedy series Outside Edge. Brenda Blethyn tells a wonderful story of how fame came suddenly after twenty years of acting.