Vera star Brenda Blethyn nearly didn’t agree to return for a new series.
The actress, who plays DCI Vera Stanhope, was shocked when Kenny Doughty, who played DS Aiden Healy, left the show and confessed she wouldn’t have returned without David Leon, who plays DCI Joe Ashworth, by her side.
She said: “After we filmed The Rising Tide at the end of 2022 I didn’t want to do anymore without Kenny Doughty, who had decided to leave. But I said, ‘I’ll think about it if you can see if David Leon is available to return as Joe Ashworth’ And so they did and here I am.
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“I was broken hearted when David left after series four and equally overjoyed when I heard he was coming back as the relationship between Vera and Joe worked so well. They have all of that early history together.
(Image: ITV)
“I wouldn’t have continued if David had not agreed to come back. I just didn’t want to start another board game with somebody else when I know I’m not going to do many more. And who would want to do it anyway?” Brenda then talked about how David’s return gave a new lease of life to the series.
“David’s return helps refresh the series. People were very upset when he left after having played Joe in the first four series of Vera. And people were delighted when it was announced that he was returning for these new films,” she said.
(Image: ITV)
The TV icon also spoke about how David helped reduce the sadness of Kenny’s departure. “It also took away the disappointment of Kenny leaving. Because people also loved Aiden. There is no one better to replace the character of Aiden Healy onscreen than Joe Ashworth. David is also delightful to work with. What a nice man he is. He also once directed an episode of Vera. A series eight story called Black Ice screened in 2018. So he’s on the ball.”
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
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Actress Brenda, 77, has appeared in over 50 episodes of Vera from 2011 until 2024 Her character Vera Stanhope is a nearly retired detective chief inspector obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons and the hit TV series are based on the novels of Ann Cleeves.
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