ITV's brilliant detective drama Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope, is back for an exciting 13th series. David Leon is also returning as DS Joe Ashworth, after being away for nearly ten years.
The new episodes are arriving fast following the Christmas special The Rising Tide and of course, there'll be some puzzling deaths to solve.
Delighted to step back into her character's shoes for the 13th run, despite fears she'd quit, Brenda said: "Stepping back into Vera's shoes for the thirteenth series feels like coming home again.The support from the locals in the North East is truly heart-warming and reuniting with the talented David Leon and the rest of our exceptional team is an absolute delight." Yet after Kenny Doughty decided to leave the show after almost a decade in 2023, Brenda also said she wanted to pack it in.
She told ITV: "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." Want a sneak peek at what's to come?