Vera star Riley Jones has finally opened up about David Leon's exit from the ITV series, following his character's departure in 2014.
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The actor, who plays PC Mark Edwards, gave an interview ahead of the show's return on Sunday and speculated as to why his co-star might have left.
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David Leon played Joe Ashworth, sidekick to Brenda Blethyn's DCI Vera Stanhope, from series one to four, being replaced as Vera's right-hand man by Kenny Doughty, who has played DS Aiden Healy since 2014.
In a recent interview, Riley revealed that while he wasn't sure of the exact reason for David leaving the series, he explained that the practicalities of being an actor can sometimes make things difficult. "I don’t know, it might have been for personal reasons," he told Express.co.uk.
"These things happen. When you're kind of going from series to series and there are a couple of months in between."
He continued: "It’s just the logistics of contracts and people get offered other jobs and all that type of stuff. So, I couldn't comment about what happened, but these things do happen."
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The ITV drama returns to our screens on Sunday night following a four-month break between the release of episodes two and three.
© Photo: ITVRiley Jones plays PC Mark Edwards
The first two instalments of the latest series ran in August last year with the rest of the series due to continue from Sunday 9 January.
Filming for the detective drama came to a halt last year due to delays caused by the pandemic, forcing the series to be split into two halves.
Sunday night's episode, Tyger Tyger, will have viewers return to the Northumbrian countryside to see DCI Vera investigate a daring robbery at a port. The official synopsis reads: "When security foreman Gary Mallon is fatally wounded during a robbery at a Blyth container port, the evidence points to an audacious heist that went awry."
"Vera begins to suspect an inside job."
Vera returns to ITV on Sunday 9 January at 8pm.
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