ITV Vera's Brenda Blethyn takes aim at rival crime dramas before dramatic exit

Vera star Brenda Blethyn has dismissed rival crime dramas as she leaves the ITV detective series after 14 years

Brenda Blethyn has hit out at rival crime dramas as she quits ITV detective series Vera after 14 years.

The 78-year-old BAFTA-winning actress will bow out as DI Vera Stanhope in January and has dismissed suggestions that she would be involved in a prequel to the popular crime series. The actress says goodbye to the role in style with two movie-length episodes to treat fans to a glorious send-off.

Speaking about a potential prequel, Brenda told The Sun: "Not that I'm aware of. No, I've not heard any. People sometimes say is there going to be a prequel? Personally, I don't think they ever work."

Brenda went to explain that while she enjoys a prequel, she doesn't often see the connect with the original series. Speaking about another ITV drama, Brenda said: "That's not to say I don't like Endeavour. I do, and I love Morse, and I loved Endeavour, but I saw no connection between the two. It was just an excuse to make a... a period set piece, which I liked, but it had nothing to do with Morse as far as I could tell."

Brenda also had damning words for the prequel to Prime Suspect, which starred Helen Mirren. Brenda said: "Same with Jane Tennison. They did a prequel that didn't work at all."

Speaking about the reasons why she has decided to leave her role as Vera, Brenda said that more time with family was a driving factor. She said: "As much as I loved all that, I've got a family at home and I realised I hadn't had a summer for 14 years with my family. So I still did another series because I couldn't drag myself away."

In an emotional chat with RadioTimes, Blethyn revealed that one particular scene with Jon Morrison, who plays DC Kenny Lockhart, was especially poignant. "One scene involved Vera and DC Kenny Lockhart, played by Jon Morrison. It broke my heart when I read the script and it was emotional to film," she shared.

Morrison himself reached out to Blethyn after filming ended, expressing his gratitude for the years of work. "Jon rang me up after it was all over. And he said, 'I just wanted to thank you for giving us 14 years of work.' What a gentleman. But I thanked him and told him I certainly wasn't going to do any episodes without him which is true."

Brenda will bow out as Vera in two episodes which air on January 1 and 2 at 8pm, on ITV1 and later, streaming service ITVX.

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