Vera’s Brenda Blethyn pays touching tribute to co-star after show’s long delay

AS Brenda Blethyn reprises her role as Vera Stanhope on the ITV crime drama, she’s praised her colleagues for their 13 years of loyalty.

Now in its 12th series, Vera has been solving crimes for well over a decade, but BAFTA winning actress Brenda Blethyn, 76, who plays the dedicated detective, won’t take all the credit for its success. 

In a recent interview, Brenda, spoke highly of her colleagues over the 13 years and described their devotion as “phenomenal.”

She said: “The Vera crew are great. Very loyal. When you consider we started filming Vera 13 years ago now, it’s mostly the same crew today.

“And a lot of local people as well. The loyalty to Vera is phenomenal.”

Her comments come after Vera fans faced a long wait to watch the concluding episodes of series 11. 

Filming of the series faced multiple disruptions in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The first two episodes didn’t air until August 2021, and then Vera vanished from TV schedules after just two weeks. 

Four months later, the iconic DCI Stanhope returned to screens before fans faced another blow when ITV pulled the show without explanation. The remaining episodes from series 11 finally aired this month and series 12 begins this weekend.

In her praise, Brenda didn’t exclusively focus on her immediate co-stars, she went on to extend her compliments to the wider cast and crew.

“Our supporting artists are also very good. They are pretty regular and also loyal. It’s all part of the real teamwork that brings Vera to the screen.”

Just like the character she plays, Brenda also has an eagle eye and picks up on small discrepancies no one else usually notices. 

She said: “Then when I get home I’ve got to go through the script for the next day. I might find a little anomaly or something that is not quite right.

“So then I have to sort that and get it approved and they have to issue re-writes to everybody else.”

Vera continues on Sunday at 8pm on ITV.