Brenda Blethyn is always thinking about retirement.
Brenda Blethyn is always thinking about retirement
The 77-year-old actress has starred in the title role of the hit ITV1 detective series 'Vera' since 2011 and although thinks about giving it all up when she spends long days shooting on location in the North East of England but she has reassured fans that the show is not over yet and that it is a "joy" to work on overall.
She is quoted by The Daily Star newspaper's HotTV column as saying: "I think about retiring nearly every day... when my feet are aching. We are not finished with it yet. It's a joy to work on. There are no egos in sight. Everyone is enthusiastic and very diligent and wants it to work well. There's nobody phoning it in."
Since beginning her tenure as the detective in the hit series - which is based on the books by Ann Cleeves - Brenda has starred in the role of seaside cafe owner Kate in the short-lived ITV1 sitcom 'Kate and Koji' but towards the end of last year that she considered quitting when her co-star Kenny Doughty left the show until she managed to get David Leon to return.
She told Radiotimes.com: "After we filmed 'The Rising Tide' at the end of 2022, I didn’t want to do any more without Kenny Doughty, who had decided to leave.
"But I said, 'I’ll think about it, if you can see if David Leon is available to return as Joe Ashworth.' And so they did, and here I am.
"I was broken-hearted when David left after series four, and equally overjoyed when I heard he was coming back, as the relationship between Vera and Joe worked so well. They have all of that early history together.
" I wouldn’t have continued if David had not agreed to come back. I just didn’t want to start another board game with somebody else when I know I’m not going to do many more. And who would want to do it, anyway?
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