Grimaced, being given hard work around Durham region? (7)
I believe the answer is:
grinned
'grimaced being' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to bodily activities as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'hard work around durham region?' is the wordplay.
'hard work' becomes 'grind' (I've seen this before).
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'durham region?' becomes 'ne' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'grind' enclosing 'ne' is 'GRINNED'.
'given' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for grinned that I've seen before include "was amused" , "Smiled broadly" .)