Vera star Brenda Blethyn has opened up about her decision to leave the hit ITV show, admitting that she has chosen to spend more time with her family after revealing a very surprising detail about her relationship with her husband, art director Michael Mayhew.
The 78-year-old opened up about her decision to leave the show when she explained that she hadn't spent a summer with her husband in 14 years, thanks to filming schedules – and how a 2023 holiday made her realise that she wanted to spend more time with her family.
She told PA: "It was a lovely summer back in 2023. And I came to realise I hadn’t had a summer with my husband for 14 years. Naturally, I missed my family. And my dog Jack, although he was with me in the North East, but I didn’t see him much because I was working all day.
© Alan Davidson/Shutterstock"I love my Vera family, but I love my other family too. And when you consider I was already thinking about packing work in when I was offered the job back in 2010, 14 series of working on Vera is pretty good going. I wasn’t actually going to do any more after series 13, but of course ITV said they needed to wind the series up.
"So I said, ‘Oh go on then, I’ll do a couple more episodes.’"
© Alan Davidson/ShutterstockThe actress, who stars as the iconic Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, is set to feature in the show's last two-part series in the New Year – but has clarified that she has only planned to go into "semi-retirement", as she will be taking jobs so long as she is not away for long periods of time.
Vera is filmed in the North East, and in the final series Vera must solve the mystery of the body of a young man found washed up on the banks of the River Tyne. Brenda joked about moving the show closer to her Kent home but accepted that the show's location was a huge part of its charm.
© Helen WilliamsShe explained: "Northumberland and the wider North East is so varied and beautiful. It’s not just one thing. It’s the seascapes, the landscapes, the moors, the cities.
© Helen Williams"A lot of them steeped in history. And lively. It’s not for nothing that Newcastle is called the party town. I must have travelled tens of thousands of miles over the years going to all of the various locations… I always love everywhere we film. And the people are so nice."
Vera airs on ITV1 at 8pm on January 1 and 2.
