Okorie Chukwu will step into the role for the new season<\/a>, and according to Blethyn, has fit in very well indeed. She praises: \u201cOkorie is great, we all just love him.\u00a0He has a vulnerability about him which is so endearing \u2013 and he\u2019s great to work with.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s great for Jimmy. We didn\u2019t start as we should have done this time last year, you know, these things happen. He was offered a wonderful job in America, and he took it \u2013 good luck to him.\u201d<\/p> The new season of Kate & Koji picks up really where we left off \u2013 Kate is still running the Essex cafe, Koji is still holding an unofficial surgery, and the regulars are still causing mayhem. At the heart of this light comedy, however, is an important story about the difficulties asylum seekers face to gain residential status, even if they are qualified doctors.<\/p>\n \u201cFor all the characters, the cafe is a bit of a refuge for them all,\u201d Blethyn ponders. \u201c[Kate] is prejudiced against ridiculous things like yodelling, things like that. But at the heart, she\u2019s a good woman and she would not stand anyone racially prejudiced. Certainly not Koji.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s perhaps most surprising about season 2 of Kate & Koji is that really no topic is out of bounds \u2013 expect jokes about Prince Andrew, among others.<\/p>\n Blethyn giggles: \u201c[There are] Home Office jokes\u2026 oh and she\u2019s incapacitated in one episode and she has a row with a curb. [Writers Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin] come up with different lines. You think you\u2019ve learned it, and you go into work and they say, \u2018We\u2019ve got a new script for you\u2019. It\u2019s alive and living, it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of Kate & Koji, Blethyn is the face of ITV detective series, Vera<\/a>, a role she\u2019s held for more than 11 years.<\/p>\n With rumours flying around in the wider press about whether she would ever hang up Vera\u2019s mucky mac and fisherman hat, RadioTimes.com<\/a> simply had to find out what the truth is.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t got any plans to [leave],\u201d explains Blethyn. \u201cAt the moment, all the time I\u2019m fit and able, I\u2019ll be visiting Vera.\u201d That\u2019s that, then.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In further good news for fans, Blethyn is returning to the north east in March to recommence filming. \u201cThe first [episode] I\u2019ve read is someone found dead on a boat. So there\u2019ll be some nice locations on that one!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Vera makes remarkable use of its landscapes, always diving into an untapped corner of the north east, showcasing the very best of Newcastle, Northumberland and surrounding areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI love it, I just love it \u2013 I love the people up there, too,\u201d Blethyn admits. \u201cThere is a difference between the friendliness of the north and the south, I don\u2019t care what anybody says.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Geordies have certainly taken her into their hearts, and are always fond to hear Vera\u2019s back filming. \u201cThat\u2019s the main compliment, really, that the people of the north east like Vera.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery two years they have a charity concert called Sunday for Sammy, which helps young people maybe trying to get into the profession as performers. Four years ago, they had a sketch with lots of coppers off the telly and at the end, Vera walks on and honest to God, you could have heard the roof lift off. I was shocked. It was rapturous, and it was just so funny for all of us on stage. It was so lovely, I could have cried.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, the UK isn\u2019t the only country to have taken Vera to heart. \u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve clocked what\u2019s been happening in Australia,\u201d Blethyn asks, fighting her infectious giggle. \u201cSeason 11 has been going out in Australia on ABC and they\u2019ve scheduled it against the Prime Minister\u2019s [Scott Morrison] address to the nation\u2026 and Vera won! There were all these tweets saying, \u2018Vera for Prime Minister!\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n It would be hard to disagree with that.<\/span><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/body><\/html>\n By Helen Daly Published: Monday, 14 March 2022 at 12:00 am Brenda Blethyn pops up on Zoom with an infectious smile and a giggle. It\u2019s a Tuesday, and she\u2019s in the middle of rehearsals for the final episode of Kate & Koji season 2, which films in front of a live studio audience on Friday. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12172,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/03\/brenda-blethyn-all-the-time-im-fit-and-able-ill-be-visiting-vera.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Helen Daly Published: Monday, 14 March 2022 at 12:00 am Brenda Blethyn pops up on Zoom with an infectious smile and a giggle. It\u2019s a Tuesday, and she\u2019s in the middle of rehearsals for the final episode of Kate & Koji season 2, which films in front of a live studio audience on Friday.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/12171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Vera\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/vera_series_11_ep3_02-2691f25.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"vera_series_11_ep3_02\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nLoved this\u00a0Big RT Interview<\/a>? Check out these\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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