Brenda Blethyn's Cheryl Cole inspiration

Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn perfected her Geordie accent for new thriller 'Vera' by studying Cheryl Cole on 'The X Factor'.

Brenda Blethyn perfected her Geordie accent for new thriller 'Vera' by studying Cheryl Cole.

The BAFTA-winning actress - who plays Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope in the upcoming ITV1 drama - admitted she grasped hold of the perfect dialect for her workaholic alter-ago by watching the 27-year-old beauty on 'The X Factor', and is even hoping to emulate Cheryl's style in the next series of the show.

She told BANG Showbiz: "I listened to Cheryl Cole quite a lot and watched 'The X Factor'. Now I have a lovely little voice, pet. I want to get a pair of those trousers with the slits up the side for the next series.

"'The X Factor' just happened to be on at the time I was learning the accent. I would go into the make-up trailer in the morning after having watched it all night and trying to memorise exactly what Cheryl said. 'You're right up my street, pet'."

Brenda - who is joined in 'Vera' by David Leon, who plays her sexy sidekick Sergeant Joe Ashworth - also felt lucky to be working with a "natural Geordie" who could pull her up on her accent if it went wrong.

She added: "There are so many different dialects in such a small area so I had to try and embrace them all without it being too strong for people to understand.

"The accent is notoriously difficult for people who aren't from there but I had a good teacher and natural Geordie David with me every day, who would pull me up if I went wrong. I would go into shops and chat to people and immerse myself in it."

More: Celebrity gossip, TV gossip (Celebrity gossip), Brenda Blethyn, Cheryl Cole, Vera

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