ITV has confirmed that the long-running police drama Vera is to come to an end after 14 seasons.
Vera features Brenda Blethyn in the title role of Vera Stanhope, who solves a different mystery around the North East of England in each episode.
On Monday morning, it was confirmed that Vera would return to our screens for a new season later this year, though this will be the final one, as Brenda has “decided to hang up Vera’s infamous trench coat and hat”.
“Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying Cheerio,” she said in a statement. “But I am so proud of our achievements over the last 14 years.
“I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful [author] Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to [executive producer] 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.”
Vera has previously featured British stars including Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhiannon Clements and the late Paul Ritter among its supporting cast.
In 2017, the Royal Television Society named Brenda Blethyn their Performer Of The Year award for her role in Vera.
Producer Kate Bartlett said: “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.”