Brenda Blethyn: ‘Fans are devastated about Vera ending – one cried to me’

The cries of anguish and disappointment can be heard from Northumberland to Australia but it’s true. After 13 years, 14 series and 56 episodes DCI Vera Stanhope, the beloved creation of crime writer Ann Cleeves, brought so beautifully to life by award-winning actor Brenda Blethyn, is parking up her battered old Land Rover and hanging up her fishing hat and trench coat.

The good news for the show’s fans is that before that comes to pass there are two final 90-minute cases for Vera to crack. The first intertwines the murder of a young man washed up on the banks of the Tyne and a 20-year-old cold case, the second involves the violent death of a student and the disappearance of a young girl. This proves to be the detective’s most emotionally challenging case yet as it summons up ghosts from her own unhappy childhood. We asked star Brenda for her favourite memories of the show, with the full 60 Seconds interview also in today’s Metro.

MY FIRST DAY AS VERA

‘The first episode we filmed in 2011 was Hidden Depths. I remember thinking, “How lucky am I to be doing this?” There were really good local actors and I felt lucky to be with them because I could hear the accent and the accent is hard for me. And my sidekick David Leon, who plays DS, now DI, Joe Ashworth, was also local. David told me to stop worrying about my accent because he said it was good. Although if you do go back
that far it’s a bit stronger at the beginning than it is now. I managed to soften it.

‘Vera respects Joe as a copper. In fact, when the first few episodes went out, I don’t think people liked Vera very much , but they liked Joe – and because he liked her people started to think, “No, she’s all right”.’

TEARS AND TEA

‘People are sad that it’s ending. I opened a fete in Northumberland for a retirement care home and one lady was crying. She said to me, “It’s my companion – it’s my friend. I look forward to seeing her.”

‘A lovely lady called Chrissy from Australia heard it was finishing so there was only one thing to do: get on a plane and come over. I met her at the fete and she visited lots of the location sites and went to tea with Ann Cleeves.’

HAIR-RAISING STUNTS

‘One time I had to drive across the moor on bumpy terrain and stop six feet in front of the camera. The Land Rover was adapted for me because
I drive an automatic, so I was used to it. It was on a slight incline when
I stopped. Out of gear, hand brake on, out I get. They said, “Fantastic – you’re on exactly the right spot, Brenda, but you’ve got to get out more quickly.” I had to drive all the way back. On the third take, I jumped out and the Landy started rolling down towards the camera crew. I’d left the hand brake off. I nearly took the whole crew out!’

STARS IN THE MAKING

‘I loved working with Wunmi Mosaku who played DC Holly Lawson in series one and two. She was a joy and never stopped smiling. Another actor who has gone on to do all sorts is Kingsley Ben-Adir [Bob Marley: One Love, Barbie, The OA, Peaky Blinders] who played pathologist Dr Marcus Summer. Kingsley was quite new to it all and came in with a little trepidation.

‘Some of the young actors come in petrified because Vera is such
a success, so I make a point of putting them at their ease by cocking something up or doing something silly.’

GOD IS IN THE DETAIL

‘The incident scenes are the hardest because I’ve got all that stuff on the board and I’m hopeless with names. Those and the interrogation scenes.
One bit of police procedure I could never remember is ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition.’

FAMOUS FANS

‘Someone sent me something the other day from that very famous American comic Steve Martin. He was going on and on and on about Vera on Jimmy Kimmel’s chat show. He’s a real fan – he’s watched them all’

MY LAST DAY AS VERA

‘We filmed it in the incident room because most people would be there for it. It wasn’t the final scene of the series. I felt a bit emotional. There were bottles popped and a few speeches.
I made an impromptu speech – I thanked everyone for their kindness and the camaraderie, really.

‘Everybody including the supporting artists and the crew have been so loyal to our show. I don’t know if all productions have the same supporting artists for all that time – we certainly did. I’ve kept the mac and the hat.’

Vera airs on ITV1 and STV on New Year’s Day and January 2 at 8pm followed by the companion documentary Vera: Farewell Pet on January 3 at 9pm.

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Vera star Brenda Blethyn has revealed some fans of the ITV crime drama have cried to her ahead of it ending (Picture: ITV) The cries of anguish and disappointment can be heard from Northumberland to Australia but it’s true. After 13 years, 14 series and 56 episodes DCI Vera Stanhope, the beloved creation of crime…