As ITV’s beloved crime drama Vera nears its conclusion, lead actress Brenda Blethyn has shared how a scene from the show’s final episodes “broke my heart.”
The end of the 14-year-long series was announced in April, with a two-part finale set to air this New Year. In an interview with RadioTimes ahead of the January 1 and 2 finale, Blethyn opened up about her time on set, revealing that one particular scene was especially “emotional” to film.
“One scene involved Vera and DC Kenny Lockhart, played by Jon Morrison. It broke my heart when I read the script and it was emotional to film,” she reminisced.
“Jon rang me up after it was all over. And he said, ‘I just wanted to thank you for giving us 14 years of work.’ What a gentleman. But I thanked him and told him I certainly wasn’t going to do any episodes without him which is true”, reports .
Brenda Blethyn is leaving Vera behind (Image: ITV)
In the concluding episodes, the detective finds herself on the banks of the Tyne following the discovery of a young man’s body. The plot, as per the synopsis, unravels a complex web of “a broken relationship, secret love, grudges, regret and fraud”.
Blethyn, 78, will be joined once more by David Leon as Joe Ashworth, Rhiannon Clements as Detective Steph Duncan, and former star Shobna Gulati as Chief Superintendent Khalon.
Joining the returning leads are several familiar faces, including Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards, Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr Paula Bennett, and Jon Morrison reprising his role as DC Kenny Lockhart.
Brenda Blethyn as Vera and Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart (Image: ITV)
Earlier this month, Blethyn shared her bittersweet decision to step away from the series, confessing it had been a difficult choice, saying: “It was a hard decision and come March when I would normally be getting ready to go back up there, I’ll probably be crying.”
Reflecting on her dedication to the show, Blethyn noted: “As much as I loved all that, I’ve got a family at home and I realised I hadn’t had a summer for 14 years with my family. So I still did another series because I couldn’t drag myself away,” she explained. “But anyway it was time, that’s all.”
The final episodes of Vera air on ITV1 on January 1 and January 2.