Brenda Blethyn pictured at read-through for last ever Vera series as filming gets underway
Brenda Blethyn has been pictured at a read-through for the last ever series of Vera as filming for the fourteenth and final series gets underway.
Fans of the beloved ITV show will get to watch the final series in 2025. It follows Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope (Brenda) and Detective Sergeants, Joe Ashworth and Aiden Healy, as they investigate complex crimes in Northumberland.
After 14 series, ITV announced that the show is coming to an end, with Brenda releasing a heartfelt statement that said: “Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying Cheerio. But I am so proud of our achievements over the last fourteen years."
Brenda continued: "I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role. The producers, dream cast and crew have been fabulous and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the north east and our fans worldwide.
Finally she added: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
In snaps released by ITV, Brenda could be seen sat in a room surrounded by colleagues as she held up the script for the fourteenth series' read-through. Despite her sadness at the show ending, she beamed a bright smile and wore reading glasses.
In another photograph, Brenda posed alongside Riley Jones, who plays DC Mark Edwards, and David Leon, who portrays DC Joe Ashworth. David had originally been in the series from seasons 1-4 and re-joined the show as a DS in 2024.
Before it was confirmed that the show would be ending, David had said: "Vera will continue for as long as the demand for it remains and Brenda feels like she can continue to surprise herself and be challenged by it. She puts so much into it, and it is an exhausting shoot. In the past usually filming four feature films back to back."
He further added: "I think one of the reasons Vera has endured is you have these films that usually drop at the beginning of the year, and you are left as an audience wanting more. We’ll just have to wait and see if there will be.”
Before making himself known on ITV's Vera, David starred in the BBC drama Cutting It from 2004 to 2005. The show focused on the lives of a team running a hairdressing salon.
Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag
