In a very different role to the one she's famous for now in Vera, Brenda Blethyn once appeared in a film alongside 50 Cent and Danny Dyer, with the role resurfacing weeks ahead of her getting back in front of cameras to film series 14 of the hit drama.

For the last 13 years, while already a well established star and a BAFTA winner, thanks to her performance in Secrets & Lies, Brenda has been best known to millions of viewers as DCI Stanhope in Vera, with the no nonsense sleuth becoming the nation's best loved detective. Vera's pilot episode, featuring an unlikely cameo from a young Sam Fender, aired on ITV in 2011 and now, after series 13 aired earlier this year, Brenda and her co-stars will soon be going into production on two more episodes, due to air in 2025.

And, ahead of her donning Vera's iconic mac and fishing hat once again, a role from Brenda's movie past has come to light. This week, The Business and EastEnders actor Danny has been on screen in new Channel 4 series How To Be A Man, in which he travelled the UK to investigate the conflicting ideas around masculinity.

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The second episode aired on Wednesday night and saw Danny meet Geordie Shore star and dad Kyle Christie, before heading to a South Shields soft play and also filming at the University of Sunderland. And, talking about about Brenda by Danny in an old interview to promote their 2009 film Dead Man Running, Danny, also famous for his roles in The Football Factory and Human Traffic, described the much loved star as a "proper Shakespearian actress" as he spoke of his delight in getting to work with her.

In the film, which grossed £546,000 at the box office, Brenda played Mrs Kane, the recently disabled mother of main character Nick, played by Tamar Hassan, with the cast also included Ashley Walters, Omid Djalili and In da Club rapper 50, real name Curtis Jackson.

There were also a few surprising names amongst the production credits, as footballers Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole took on executive producer roles.