A Woman of Substance review: Brenda Blethyn isn’t the only scene-stealer in this rompy remake

After 14 years helming ITV crime drama Vera in her signature hat and mac, many Brenda Blethyn fans will undoubtedly be tuning into A Woman of Substance to see the actress in an entirely different kind of role.

A vision of complete glamour in the show's trailer and promo images, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Blethyn is the only leading lady in this new Channel 4 drama – but actually, she gets a lot less airtime than many may think. Instead, it's very much a series that I think calls for Jessica Reynolds's (House of Guinness) name to be mentioned whenever anyone wonders who is helming the adaptation.

The pair both embody lead character Emma Harte, with Reynolds driving the series in the focal point era of Emma's story.

Blethyn, on the other hand, is an apt central force for the drama, bookending episodes and grounding us in the hopes that Emma does achieve all she sets out to do. Her scenes are mainly in her New York headquarters of her business empire, wrestling with the very real fact that by ensuring her children have never had to want for anything, they may have ended up a tad spoilt.

For many, this will be their first touchpoint with A Woman of Substance and for plenty others, they will hold fond memories of the 1985 three-parter that also aired on Channel 4 at the time. Based on Barbara Taylor Bradford’s 1979 novel of the same name, this series has been created by The Buccaneers's Katherine Jakeways, who clearly knows a thing or two about crafting a steamy period drama.

In the era of shows like The Buccaneers, Bridgerton and The Gilded Age, as well as the much talked-about Emerald Fennell adaptation of Wuthering Heights currently in cinemas, there's much talk about the current racier edge to period pieces. Creating productions with the female gaze at the forefront of the ideation process has sure been a long time coming and while that's a subject I could wax lyrical about at any time of day, it's clear to see that A Woman of Substance is a relatable production that has been cleverly crafted by a female-led team.

Not only that, but it's a show that leans into its sexiness and melodrama – something that period dramas should do by the bucket load. We have sensual boudoir scenes and the usual kind of bodice-ripping we'd expect of the genre, but we also have the more risqué as the show utilises a Yorkshire cliffside cave as a location for one of Emma and Edwin's dalliances. The scenes don't necessarily hold as much tension or yearning as perhaps some of the aforementioned releases, but it's all rather fun anyway.

These days, there won't be many of us that will be able to sympathise with being the maid of a stately British home but when you zoom out, the story of Emma's is one that is really all about the often undermined and disrespected underdog. While we all know in which direction this story goes – with Emma falling in love with one of the masters of the house, Edwin – you almost want to will her not to fall for his affections. But alas, we would have no story.

And that's the very thing about A Woman of Substance that makes it such an enjoyable and engaging watch. We know exactly how the story is going to pan out from the very fact that we see Blethyn as a stylish business mogul with several children.

We know that Emma gets the ultimate betrayal from Edwin once she reveals she's pregnant with his child and we know that she vows to get revenge on his entire family. But as for the intricacies of that revenge plot and why she remains impassioned so many years on, that's something that will be both a treat for viewers but will also bring its fair share of stomach-churning moments.

While perhaps not to the degree as depicted in the series, there obviously do still continue to be questionable power dynamics throughout society and the world we live in. So, seeing Emma – a young woman who, on paper, shouldn't have gotten to the place she does – make it in such an unashamed way in a male-dominated time, it really does leave you with a pep in your step.

That is also all down to the stellar performance done by Reynolds who not only embodies Emma and her story to such a moving extent, but also expertly changes her characterisation as time moves on with her. Compared to the '80s adaptation, this version of A Woman of Substance boasts eight episodes and within them, we move quickly through time as we see how Emma's story unfolds.

As we progress, Emma's signature thick Yorkshire accent (a feat for anyone but brilliantly done by the Irish actress) softens and ebbs as she grows older and starts to code switch, depending on her environment. Her sense of style also changes as she hones her eye for design, but her tenacity is something that really punctuates the entire show.

The first episodes where we come to know Emma, her heartbreaking family story (complete with a poignant performance from young Lenny Rush as Emma's brother Frank), her friendship with fellow Fairley house employee Mac (Niall Wright) and her dynamic with Fairley matriarch Adele (Leanne Best) are some of the bits where the show really shines. We need that much time in that period of Emma's life to really understand the decisions she goes on to make.

However, the resulting episodes almost feel like a flash in a pan compared to the groundwork that's been done to build up Emma's character.

At times, it almost feels like overnight, Emma has gone on to become a revered businesswoman and while it is all explained, I can't help but feel as though we could've spent more time in Emma's younger adult years, prior to Blethyn's input as the elder version of the character. The crucial middle bit of Emma's story is perhaps its meatiest and I do just feel we missed a trick by seemingly catapulting her from maid to seamstress to Harte's business owner and somehow, to having enough money and power that she's in the direct path of the Fairley's.

For a character who also held her family so close to her, some of the choices Emma makes throughout the series are slightly infuriating – like disappearing off the face of the Earth when her father and brother still need her – and in her later years, it's a little sloppy to just merely paint her as a busy working mother who barely makes time for her children and husband.

Nevertheless, Reynolds is a force to be reckoned with here – bringing humour, light, hope and heartbreak to every episode. With less screen time than Reynolds, it's hard for Blethyn to embody all of that to a similar degree but in the final moments of the series, she does come into her own a bit more as the story takes some soapy turns. Enough twists that I would say, it's surely warranted for a sneaky second season.

The '70s scenes are very much like something out of recent hit series Rivals, with that same dramatic air to things as Blethyn switches up gears as the matriarch with some big revelations to get to the bottom of.

It's a series that does deal with some big themes that clearly stand the test of time, but is very much steeped in the heady world of revenge. Most importantly, though, A Woman of Substance is the kind of show you can't help but want to blitz through to the end – a testament to the captivating leading ladies at the centre of it.

A Woman of Substance will premiere on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9pm on Channel 4.

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