Brenda Blethyn says her husband Michael ’s “face lit up” when she revealed she would end her run as Vera , as she will finally spend her summers at home. The 78-year-old actress also reveals that the secret to their happy marriage is separate bathrooms and separate spaces to watch TV. “I suddenly realised last year that I haven’t spent a summer at home for 14 years and maybe it was time to think about that,” she tells Saga magazine. “Michael’s face lit up when I told him [I was going to stop].