Vera star David Leon completely unrecognisable in 21-year throwback with Amanda Holden
Actor David Leon may be best known for playing DI Joe Ashworth in Vera, but he looked very different when he was first starting out in a BBC drama.
When Vera first started in 2011, DCI Vera Stanhope (played by Brenda Blethyn) had her crime-solving partner Joe Ashworth (David Leon) by her side from day one.
It was then in season four that the 44-year-old decided to leave the ITV drama behind, making room for DS Aiden Healy star Kenny Doughty to join the cast.
But it was in season 13 last year following Aiden’s departure that Leon rejoined the stars of Vera for the final two outings, with the last series ending earlier this month.
Long before the award-winning series had been created though, Leon starred in another drama and looked entirely different.
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In 2004, Leon got his first big break playing coffee shop manager Troy Gillespie in the BBC series Cutting It.
While DI Joe Ashworth has a slicked-back look, wearing suits with a full beard, his character Troy in Cutting It had longer, wavier hair and minimal facial hair.
He also more often than not went for the scruffier look, wearing hoodies with jeans and trainers but did don a smarter jacket and shirt when he played guitar in the street for a scene.
Leon starred in Cutting It alongside some very familiar faces, including Bancroft’s Sarah Parish, Britain’s Got Talent star Amanda Holden and Waterloo Road’s Angela Griffin.
Leon was behind Troy who was the half-brother of Holden’s character Mia Bevan.
The show followed “the traumatic life of hairdresser Allie Henshall (Sarah Parish), alongside her lovers, her rivals and her dysfunctional family”.
The BBC award-nominated drama ran for four seasons before it came to an end in 2005.
Vera is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.
