Brenda Blethyn will be hanging up the coat and hat with two final episodes.
It has been announced by ITV that the previously confirmed two-part 14th season of Vera will also be the crime drama’s final outing, with Brenda Blethyn stepping away from the title role.
Blethyn will hang up DCI Vera Stanhope’s trench coat and hat after the two episodes have finished filming this summer.
The series first aired back in 2011, and is based on the novels by Ann Cleeves.
Blethyn said in a statement: “Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end, and I’m sad to be saying cheerio.
“But I am so proud of our achievements over the last 14 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 North East and our fans worldwide.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Meanwhile, executive producer and creative director of production company Silverprint Pictures, Kate Bartlett, added: “It is the end of an era and has been an extraordinary journey over 14 amazing series of Vera.
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“So many wonderful and talented people have been involved in the making of Vera across all the series, but none of us would be here without two incredible women: firstly, the absolutely extraordinary talent of the inimitable Brenda Blethyn. She is brilliant as DCI Vera Stanhope, a truly iconic character of our times.
“And – of course – the amazing Ann Cleeves, author of the original novels and creator of DCI Vera Stanhope. We will all be very sad to say goodbye to Brenda and everyone involved in making the show.”
While little is yet known about the show’s two final episodes, David Leon is expected to be back as DI Joe Ashworth, after he returned to the role for this year’s season after last being seen in the series in 2014.
Vera season 14 will arrive soon. Previous episodes are available to watch on ITVX while seasons are also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free BritBox trial here.
You can also purchase instalments from any series on Amazon Prime Video. You can buy the first of Ann Cleeves’s Vera novels now.
To find out what else is on, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our dedicated Drama hub. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.