Telly detective Brenda Blethyn is calling time on Vera after 14 years because it was getting too much at the age of 78.
Ending one of the highest-rated crime dramas on TV, which regularly pulls in around eight million viewers, has not been an easy decision.
But don’t worry, Brenda, who plays Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in the series, based on the Vera Stanhope series of novels by Ann Cleeves and is filmed around Newcastle, is not quitting TV.
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In fact, she’s already eyeing a return – as a soap star!
Brenda says: “I’m getting on a bit, so I had to stop doing Vera. But I’m still acting – I’ve just finished a film. I’d be tempted to do a soap, but nobody has asked me.
(Image: ITV/Stuart Wood/REX/Shutterstock)
“I love soaps and watch Emmerdale and Corrie. I like them both for different reasons –they both have merit. The actors on all the soaps work so hard. I don’t know how they do it.”
The youngest of nine children, Brenda was born in Ramsgate, where she still has a home she shares with husband Michael Mayhew and their cockapoo Jack.
After studying at the Guildford School of Acting for more than four decades, she’s been entertaining us on TV and at the cinema.
Brenda is so talented she bagged Oscar nominations for her performances in hit movies Little Voice and Secrets & Lies.
(Image: ITV)
Other memorable roles include ones in Saving Grace, A River Runs Through It and Atonement as well as sitcoms Chance In A Million and Labours of Erica.
But for many, it’s her role as Vera, which first hit screens on ITV1 on May 1, 2011, that she is most synonymous with.When Brenda announced in April her plans to quit the show, scores of fans were left devastated.
And it’s not just viewers who have been weeping into their sofa cushions over the series ending.
“When I filmed my last scene it was quite emotional,” says Brenda. “I’ve been doing it for 14 years.
“Things were emotional on set on the last day, it really was – there were tears.”
(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
“It has been a wonderful job – a blast from beginning to end. I’ve really loved it. For the 14 years that we were working on it, there wasn’t an ego in sight. It was a pleasure.
“The scripts were always good; the direction was always good and the guest stars and supporting artists were wonderful. It was a job made in heaven really. I’ll miss the quality work.”
Another special memory Brenda will take from Vera is how much filming in the north-east of England has helped boost the coffers of picturesque spots including Bamburgh, Holy Island and Northumberland.
Brenda says: “Before I left, I looked on the catering sheet and there were 75 people there every day.
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“The show gave all those people employment for 14 years. It’s fantastic and will have helped the local economy.”
And the friendships the actress made on Vera will stay with her forever.
Many of them had a reunion at the National Television Awards earlier this month.
Vera was up for the Returning Drama gong, which was the perfect excuse to celebrate the show’s amazing success.
Brenda says: “I got to see all the cast and crew again at the National Television Awards, which was nice. I like big awards for the party element of it.”
Vera is sure to go out with equally as big a bang when the final series airs early next year.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
