Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds seen for first time as Leeds character Emma Harte in Woman of Substance

Actresses Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds have been seen as Emma Harte for the first time for the Channel 4 adaption of Leeds-born Barbara Taylor Bradford’s rags to riches A Woman Of Substance novel.

A Woman of Substance follows the life of businesswoman Emma Harte, who works her way up from poverty in Leeds to riches in New York. Bradford herself was born in Armley, Leeds, and died aged 91 in November.

Brenda Blethyn as Emma Harte in the Channel 4 adaption of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman Of Substance book | Channel 4/The Forge/Sam Taylor/PA Wire

placeholder image — Brenda Blethyn as Emma Harte in the Channel 4 adaption of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman Of Substance book | Channel 4/The Forge/Sam Taylor/PA Wire

Reynolds, 27, can be seen wearing a red outfit overlooking a series of hills as the character’s younger self, while Vera star Blethyn, 79, is pictured standing in a hallway, wearing a white coat and orange sunglasses, while holding a red bag.

The show will follow Emma Harte, an impoverished ambitious maid in Yorkshire in 1911, who goes on a journey to become the world’s richest woman. Channel 4 describes the story as a “rags-to-riches tale of women through the 20th century”, as Emma “defies the expectations of her society, fearlessly challenging the roles she’s given”.

Jessica Reynolds as Emma Harte in the Channel 4 adaption of Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman Of Substance book. | Channel 4/The Forge/Sam Taylor/PA Wire

The new eight-part series of the book comes 40 years after it was first adapted for the channel in 1984. Author Taylor Bradford died at the age of 91 on November 24 last year following a short illness, “and was surrounded by loved ones to the very end”, a spokeswoman said at the time.

Paying tribute at a memorial service held in London in June, writer and barrister Cherie Blair, who is married to former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, described the writer as “an inspiration to me, and to millions”.

Other TV adaptations of her books included ITV’s Act Of Will starring Elizabeth Hurley and Victoria Tennant, and To Be The Best, a sequel to A Woman Of Substance with Lindsay Wagner and Sir Anthony Hopkins. The author was often labelled “the grand dame of blockbusters”, with her books selling more than 91 million copies and having been published in more than 40 languages and in 90 countries.

Filming for A Woman Of Substance has already began in Yorkshire, with a transmission date set to be announced in due course. Production teams were recording at Barnsley Town Hall, Ilkley Moor and Brodsworth Hall and Gardens near Doncaster earlier in the year.

The show will be produced by The Forge Entertainment, written by Katherine Jakeways and co-written by Roanne Bardsley.