Brenda Blethyn’s new Channel 4 remake finally confirms March premiere
brenda blethyn will return to television in A Woman of Substance, an eight-part period drama that premieres with its first two episodes on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9 p. m. on Channel 4.
The series is a remake of the channel’s own adaptation filmed 40 years earlier and marks Blethyn’s first role since the conclusion of Vera; Jessica Reynolds plays the younger Emma Harte, with Blethyn portraying the older version of the character across different time periods.
Set in 1911, the story follows Emma Harte’s ascent from an “impoverished ambitious maid in Yorkshire” to a global powerhouse, ending with the character looking down from a New York penthouse. The eight-part series consists of 60-minute episodes and the broadcaster will also make the full series available as a boxset following transmission of the first episode.
Brenda Blethyn leads new adaptation, premiere set for March 11 and 12
Blethyn headlines the remake alongside Jessica Reynolds; the show’s official synopsis frames Emma’s arc as a “dizzying journey” to become the world’s richest woman. The first two episodes air on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9 p. m., and viewers who miss the initial broadcast can stream the whole eight-part run as a boxset immediately after the first episode is shown.
Trailer teases revenge and early-20th-century New York
The released trailer cuts between Blethyn’s Emma in New York, desperate to exact revenge, and Reynolds’ younger Emma working in a grand house and warned to curb her “ambition. ” The narrative thread of betrayal by Emma’s daughter Elizabeth fuels what has been described as a revenge romp and the character’s masterplan to “get to the top. ”
Filming across Yorkshire and Liverpool doubled for New York
Production took place across Yorkshire and beyond: Broughton Hall in North Yorkshire, Barnsley Town Hall, Brodsworth Hall and Gardens in Doncaster, and multiple locations on the Liverpool Waterfront, which were heavily dressed to mimic early-20th-century New York. Jessica Reynolds noted on social media that crews filmed in “lovely Leeds” and the surrounding Yorkshire area, and she said production ran for around 19 weeks.
Ensemble cast, writers and production team
The ensemble includes Jo Joyner as Elizabeth Harte Ainsley, Emmett J. Scanlan as Adam Fairley, Lydia Leonard as Olivia Wainwright, Will Mellor as Jack Harte and Lenny Rush as Frank Harte. Additional cast members named for the series are Leanne Best, Ewan Horrocks, Harry Cadby, Niall Wright, Robert Wilfort, Toby Regbo, Hiftu Quasem, Sophie Bould and Georgina Sadler.
The adaptation was written by Katherine Jakeways with co-writer Roanne Bardsley. The show was made by The Forge and is a Channel 4 commission; Banijay Rights is handling international distribution.
International sales and U. S. streaming on BritBox
Banijay Rights has sold the series to a range of international buyers: Foxtel’s streaming service Binge in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, NPO in the Netherlands, Cosmote in Greece, Cellcom TV Plus in Israel and RUV in Iceland. In the United States, BritBox has taken streaming rights; Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Acquisitions and Coproductions, negotiated the U. S. streaming deal and said, "BritBox is the perfect North American home for this bold new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s classic story. "
The sales push coincided with the London TV Screenings this week; Banijay joined an event that began with distributors including All3Media, ITV Studios and Fremantle and expanded to more than 40 sales houses showing titles.
A long legacy: the novel and the 1980s miniseries
A Woman of Substance was first published in 1979 by Barbara Taylor Bradford. The story was adapted once before in the 1980s for a miniseries that starred Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr; that earlier adaptation remains one of the channel’s most successful dramas, and its final episode still ranks as the highest-rated program in the channel’s history. News of the new series emerged after Taylor Bradford’s death in late 2024; she died at the age of 91.
Channel 4 will air the first two episodes on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 9 p. m.; the full eight-part, 60-minute-episode series will be available as a boxset after the first episode, and U. S. viewers can look for the show on BritBox following its UK transmission. Banijay Rights will continue international distribution and recovery and sales activity at the ongoing London TV Screenings this week.
