Brenda Blethyn admitted to being 'rather choked up' on stage as she bid an 'official' farewell to Vera and her legendary character at a special celebration in London, as fans, press and some of her co-tars flocked to the capital's famous British Film Institute on Tuesday night. It was back in 2011 that Brenda, a BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee for her role in Secrets & Lies, first pulled on the now instantly recognisable fishing hit and trenchoat fashion combo on her on screen alias, as she joined original, since returned, sidekick David Leon for pilot episode Hidden Depths, which also had a fleeting cameo from a young Sam Fender as the ITV show's first ever murder victim. Thirteen years on from millions of viewers being engrossed for the first time, it was announced by ITV execs earlier this year that Vera was going to be coming to an end with its 14th and final series.
The last ever episodes of the much loved and globally popular drama were filmed all over the North East in the summer and, just like she was after shooting her last scenes, Brenda seemed genuinely moved at certain points during Tuesday night's Vera - End of an Era event, as she sat down with author Ann Cleeves and host for the evening, Emma Kennedy. During the 95 minute special, Brenda and Ann had the chance to relive some of the most memorable moments from Vera's 13 series to date; including the first ever appearance of Vera, a very dramatic scene from series 2 when David's character jumped into a lake to res.