Vera actress Brenda Blethyn has confirmed that the fourteenth season of the beloved UK detective series will be its last.
The final season will consist of two 120-minute episodes, bringing the total number of Vera episodes to 56.
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In a statement to confirm the bittersweet news, the 78-year-old described working on Vera as a “joy” from start to finish.
“I am so proud of our achievements over the last fourteen years. I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role.”
“The producers, dream cast, and crew have been fabulous and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter, or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the northeast, and our fans worldwide. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
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The news comes just over a month since the show was renewed for its fourteenth season, which at the time fans did not realise would be its last.
Book 12 in the Vera series – The Dark Wives – by author Anna Cleeves is due to be released on August 29th, 2024.
While it is currently unclear when the new episodes will air, fans suspect that the upcoming episodes will draw inspiration from the novel.
In January, 2024, Brenda herself hinted that the show may soon be coming to an end.
“At the moment there’s nothing planned,” she admitted candidly to The Mirror.
“But that’s not to say they’re not talking about it. There might be a winding up. I don’t know.”
Speaking with New Idea in late 2023, Brenda also admitted that she never could have anticipated just how popular the show would become, revealing that her fame felt “intrusive” at certain points in time.
“I don’t court that kind of publicity,” she shared with us at the time.
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