Brenda Blethyn to Leave 'Vera' as Show Announces Final Season

Brenda Blethyn has announced that she is departing the long-running detective series “Vera” after its upcoming 14th season, which will also be its last.

Filming on the final season will take place this summer in Northumberland and North East England, and will consist of two 120-minute episodes. “Vera” first aired in May 2011 and was inspired by Ann Cleeves’ bestselling “Vera Stanhope” novels.

“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,” the 78-year-old Blethyn said in a statement. “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.”

An iconic English actress, Blethyn has been nominated for two Oscars, two Emmys, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. In 2003, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contributions to acting.

Added Silverprint Pictures creative director Kate Bartlett, who has executive produced much of “Vera”: “It is the end of an era and has been an extraordinary journey over 14 amazing series of ‘Vera.’ 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.”