Channel 4 has cast the leads for its upcoming remake of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s A Woman Of Substance.
Double Oscar-nominee Brenda Blethyn will play the older Emma Harte and Jessica Reynolds is the younger version of the iconic character.
The remake of the rags-to-riches tale comes 40 years after the first Channel 4 version of A Woman of Substance, which starred Jenny Seagrove and remains its most watched drama of all time. Taylor Bradford died last November aged 91.
Joining the cast are Emmett J Scanlan (Kin, Mobland) as Adam Fairley, Lydia Leonard (The Mirror and The Light, Gentleman Jack) as Olivia Wainwright, Leanne Best (This City Is Ours, Line of Duty) as Adele Fairley, Ewan Horrocks (The Last Kingdom, Domina) as Edwin Fairley, Harry Cadby (In Flight, Everything Now) as Gerald Fairley, Will Mellor (Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Line of Duty) as Jack Harte, BAFTA-winning Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable, Doctor Who) as Frank Harte, Niall Wright (Hope Street, Slow Horses) as Mac, Robert Wilfort (Gavin and Stacey, Wolf Hall) as Murgatroyd, Toby Regbo (Medici, A Discovery of Witches) as Jim Fairley, Hiftu Quasem (The Witcher, Ten Percent) as Priya Chandra, Sophie Bould (Call The Midwife, Sex Education) as Elizabeth Harte and Georgina Sadler (Silo, Boarders) as Polly.
The Buccaneers scribes Katherine Jakeways and Roanne Bardsley are penning A Woman of Substance, which follows the tale of an impoverished, ambitious maid in Yorkshire who takes a dizzying climb to become the world’s richest woman, gazing down on her sprawling empire from a luxury New York penthouse. Banijay-backed The Forge is producing the new version and ex-Channel 4 drama boss Beth Willis is EP.
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Blethyn said: “I’m overjoyed to be taking on this iconic role, in the footsteps of the great Deborah Kerr. As a fan of Barbara Taylor-Bradford, it is an unmissable opportunity to play the fierce Emma Harte.”
Blethyn is a double Oscar-nominated star well known to UK audiences for her roles in shows like Vera. Reynolds is a relative newcomer who impressed as love interest Georgia in hit indie film Kneecap and starred in Outlander Season 6.
Channel 4 has gone big on drama castings over the past few days. Falling, another of its new shows under film and TV drama boss Ollie Madden, landed Paapa Essiedu and Keeley Hawes as leads last week. That show is also produced by The Forge and is being penned by Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne.
Willis, Joe Innes, George Faber and Jakeways are the executive producers of A Woman of Substance alongside Taylor Bradford. Bardsley is co-executive producer. Charlie Palmer (Extraordinary, Agatha Raisin) is producer and John Hardwick (The Buccaneers, One Day, The A Word) will direct block one. A Woman of Substance has been commissioned for Channel 4 by Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama and Rebecca Holdsworth, Commissioning Editor, Drama. A Woman of Substance will be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.