Saga Magazine – January 2025

Summary

Brenda Blethyn on hanging up Vera’s bucket hat headlines Saga Magazine’s January 2025 issue at £3.95, as she opens up about the ITV detective drama’s end and her long-distance marriage. A special report on page 24 exposes how older people fall victim to financial abuse from carers, while Trevor McDonald recalls the 1986 night the Ferdinand Marcos autocracy ended. The issue balances hard-hitting investigations with Prof Tim Spector’s recipes, dog-walking workouts and a luxury Leeds Castle competition.

The care abuse investigation runs 4 pages with first-person accounts from three victims and a legal analysis of lasting power of attorney safeguards. Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of Maria Callas gets a feature on page 32, and the money section asks whether forgotten trinkets could fund a retirement — with real auction prices from a recent Bamfords sale. The photography piece on page 28 profiles a woman documenting every penguin species.

Travel covers a South African safari with Race Across The World’s Stephen and Viv, plus a Prosecco-region itinerary. The What’s On section lists January’s TV, theatre and exhibitions, with Bob Dylan’s string theory show, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s closing column and Susie Dent’s Word to the Wise finishing the book.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.18 · Brenda Blethyn on hanging up Vera’s famous bucket hat
Blethyn discusses the decision to end Vera after 14 series and her commute between Kent and Chicago to see her husband. She describes filming the final scene — a dawn shot on the Northumberland coast — without the usual crew breakfast wrap. The interview confirms she has no plans to return to television in 2025.

▸ Investigations

p.24 · The care takers: How older people are falling victim to financial abuse from carers
Three victims share stories of carers who drained savings accounts and redirected direct debits. The accompanying legal box explains how to register a lasting power of attorney and what red flags to watch for on bank statements. Set up a weekly standing order check if a carer handles your bills.

▸ Features

p.28 · Marching on! Meet the woman photographing every penguin species
The photographer has documented 16 of the 18 penguin species across Antarctica, South Georgia and the Galapagos. Her technique involves lying flat on the ice at -20°C for 45 minutes to get eye-level shots. The final two species — the yellow-eyed and the northern rockhopper — are scheduled for a 2025 expedition.

p.32 · Singing her praises: Angelina Jolie pays homage to Maria Callas
A look behind Jolie’s transformation for the Maria Callas biopic, including 7 months of vocal training to replicate Callas’s soprano range. The costume department recreated Callas’s 1955 La Scala gown stitch-for-stitch from archive photos.

p.36 · New year’s pay day: Could your long-forgotten trinkets be worth a small fortune?
Real auction results from Bamfords: a 1950s ceramic spaniel sold for £320 and a box of vintage fishing flies went for £470. The article lists five categories — ceramics, fishing tackle, costume jewellery, postcards and vinyl — that consistently outperform seller expectations. Pull that box out of the loft before spring-cleaning season.

p.44 · Stick man: Why Will Wyatt is a walking cane convert
The former BBC executive on ditching his folding stick for a bespoke wooden cane after mobility issues worsened. He names three UK cane-makers who offer custom measurements and wood types. A properly fitted cane should reach your wrist crease when you stand upright.

▸ Food / Health

p.60 · Food: Recipes for better health by Prof Tim Spector
The microbiome scientist provides 4 recipes built around fermented foods and prebiotic vegetables. His kimchi recipe uses only 4 ingredients — cabbage, salt, garlic and ginger — and ferments in 5 days at room temperature.

p.82 · Take the lead: Turn your dog walk into a workout
A 30-minute interval routine that alternates between walking, lunges and jogging intervals cued to lamp-post distances. The programme is co-designed with a veterinary physiotherapist to avoid joint strain in older dogs.

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Editor’s Take

Saga’s January issue punches above its weight with two genuinely hard-hitting pieces: the care financial-abuse investigation and the hidden-treasure auction guide. The Brenda Blethyn interview is warm but thin — she gives polished answers that reveal little new. Where the issue stalls is in the travel section: the Prosecco-region piece reads like a press trip itinerary, and the Safari feature lacks the practical detail Saga readers need (visa costs, malaria prophylaxis, insurance for over-70s). The food section with Tim Spector is strong, and the dog-walking workout is genuinely useful. This issue is for the 60-plus reader who wants a mix of serious money advice and lifestyle features, not for someone seeking hard news or celebrity gossip.

Strengths
• Care financial-abuse investigation with victim testimony
• Hidden-treasure auction guide with real Bamfords prices
• Tim Spector fermented-food recipes with practical fermentation times

Weaknesses
• Travel section lacks over-70s practical planning details
• Brenda Blethyn interview stays surface-level

Verdict: Recommended — The investigations and money advice justify the cover price despite a patchy travel section.