Brenda Blethyn has revealed why she has finally quit Vera after a whopping 13 years on screens.
Inspired by the award-winning works of author Ann Cleeves, Vera has become a much-loved and acclaimed series, famed for its compelling storylines and captivating performances.
Oscar-nominated actress Brenda Blethyn, 78, who stars as DCI Vera Stanhope in the show, will hang up her infamous trench coat and hat and bid farewell to Northumberland and the North East with the final season of the detective series.
Explaining why she quit, she said: ‘It was a lovely summer back in 2023, and I came to realise I hadn’t had a summer with my husband for 14 years.
‘Naturally, I missed my family. And my dog Jack, although he was with me in the North East, but I didn’t see him much because I was working all day.’
Brenda Blethyn has revealed why she has finally quit Vera after a whopping 14 years on screens after ‘struggling to drag herself away’ from the show for so long
She added: ‘I love my Vera family, but I love my other family too. And when you consider I was already thinking about packing work in when I was offered the job back in 2010, 14 series of working on Vera is pretty good going!
‘I wasn’t actually going to do any more after series 13, but of course ITV said they needed to wind the series up. So I said: “Oh, go on then, I’ll do a couple more episodes.”‘
Brenda shared how she felt shooting the final episode and gave a small teaser about the ending.
She said: ‘It was very appropriate that the last day of filming was scheduled to take place in the police incident room where so much of the drama has happened.
‘I think our producer Will Nicholson contrived that – incidentally, that is not where the final scene of the episode takes place.’
She continued: ‘You could hear a pin drop when we were filming. Then when I heard “that’s a wrap”, I was emotional. As, indeed, Vera would have been. There were a lot of people behind the cameras and at the end I thanked everybody. I said: “We’re all as important as one another.”
‘I might be the one playing the title character, but it’s only an ingredient in a great big pot. And all of the ingredients are necessary, everyone contributes to it, and it’s the sum of all of those parts that made Vera a success.’
Branda also previously admitted that she has kept a few souvenirs from the set as a sweet reminder of her time on the show.
Explaining why she quit, she said: ‘I’ve got a family at home and I realised I hadn’t had a summer for 14 years with my family’
‘I have got the mac and hat! I think I’ve got the coat as well, the tweedy one. Although it looks like it’s been through the mill,’ she said.
The final series will air on January 1 and January 2 at 8pm, while the show’s accompanying factual documentary, Vera: Farewell Pet, will air on January 3 at 9pm, all on ITV1 and STV.
Whilst at an event at the BFI in London celebrating Vera’s success, the actress
The actress initially refused to speak about the finale at an event at the BFI in London.
‘No comment. I’m not going to tell you,’ she quipped when she was pressed for information.
But she did drop some hints, suggesting a rocky time ahead for Vera and her colleague Joe Ashworth (David Leon).
Brenda said: ‘Joe has something going on that he doesn’t want to talk about and Vera is anxious to get to the bottom of that.
‘I have got the mac and hat! I think I’ve got the coat as well, the tweedy one. Although it looks like it’s been through the mill,’ she said.
‘We know he came back to the area because his father was ill. He passed away we’ve already seen that.
‘Joe doesn’t seem to have come out of that dungeon and Vera’s concerned about that.’
Meanwhile, Vera is faced with her own dilemma after she learns her boss intends to promote her.
Brenda said: ‘Vera’s superior, the Chief Inspector, wants to promote her, and so it’s a big decision for Vera to make.’
Vera airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITV1X.