Vera star Brenda Blethyn says filming final scenes of ITV drama 'broke her heart' as show ends after 14 series

Brenda Blethyn, the star of ITV's hit crime drama series Vera, has opened up about her heartache filming the show's final episodes. 

The beloved drama is set to conclude with a two-part special this New Year after a successful 14-year run. 

And this week, during an emotional chat with Radio Times, the actress, 78, revealed one particular scene with Jon Morrison, who plays DC Kenny Lockhart, was very emotional to film. 

She shared: '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.' 

Meanwhile, Jon himself reached out to Brenda after filming had wrapped, expressing his gratitude for her 14 years of work. 

Brenda added: '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.'

The gripping finale, which is set to air on January 1 and January 2 at 8pm, will see Detective Vera called to investigate a body found by the Tyne, entangling her in a case of 'a broken relationship, secret love, grudges, regret and fraud'. 

As Vera's journey comes to an end, Brenda will also be joined by David Leon as Joe Ashworth, Rhiannon Clements as Detective Steph Duncan, and Shobna Gulati as Chief Superintendent Khalon, reports Chronicle Live. 

In addition to the main cast, Riley Jones is set to return as DC Mark Edwards alongside Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr Paula Bennett, and Jon will reprise his role as DC Kenny Lockhart. 

It comes after Brenda admitted she had struggled to 'drag herself away' from the ITV detective show for so long.

She said: 'It was a hard decision and come March when I would normally be getting ready to go back up there, I'll probably be crying.'

'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. But anyway, it was time, that's all.'

However, the star has kept a few souvenirs from the set as a sweet reminder of her time on the show.

'I have got the mac and hat! I think I've got the coat as well, the tweedy one. Although it looks like it's been through the mill,' she said. 

The actress initially refused to speak about the finale at an event at the BFI in London.

'No comment. I'm not going to tell you,' she quipped when she was pressed for information.

But she did drop some hints, suggesting a rocky time ahead for Vera and her colleague Joe Ashworth (David Leon).

Brenda said: 'Joe has something going on that he doesn't want to talk about and Vera is anxious to get to the bottom of that.'

'We know he came back to the area because his father was ill. He passed away we've already seen that.'

'Joe doesn't seem to have come out of that dungeon and Vera's concerned about that.'

Meanwhile, Vera is faced with her own dilemma after she learns her boss intends to promote her.

Brenda said: 'Vera's superior, the Chief Inspector, wants to promote her, and so it's a big decision for Vera to make.' 

The final series will air on January 1 and January 2 at 8pm, while the show's documentary, Vera: Farewell Pet, will air on January 3 at 9pm, on ITV1 and STV.