Vera star Brenda Blethyn, 75, has said she "fully expects" to be working until the end of her life.

100 North East organisations will benefit, including Sage Gateshead and Beamish Museum, as part of the second phase of the Government's Cultural Recovery Fund.

The comedian from Consett has Cerebral Palsy and uses a machine to communicate but being proud of his North East roots, wanted to have a local accent.