Vera star Brenda Blethyn has decided to quit the hit ITV series after fourteen seasons. Although she loves the “Vera family”, she misses her own and hopes to spend more time with her husband.

The 78-year-old is planning a “semi-retirement” to continue to work without having to stay away from home for too long. Vera will conclude in a two-part series on the occasion of the new year.

Brenda Blethyn, who headlined Vera as its titular character since 2010, has revealed her plans after quitting the show.

Brenda Blethyn on spending time with her husband

Fans were gutted when Brenda announced her exit from the show earlier this year. However, her decision comes after releasing that she hasn’t spent enough time with her family since the beginning of the show.

During her conversation with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the actress shared: “It was a lovely summer back in 2023. And I came to realise I hadn’t had a summer with my husband for 14 years. Naturally, I missed my family.”

“And my dog Jack, although he was with me in the North East, but I didn’t see him much because I was working all day.”

Brenda and her husband Michael Mayhew met in the 1970s and married three decades later in 2010. Before Michael, the actress was married to her ex-husband Alan Blethyn for nine years.

TV star wanted to quit after last season

Brenda further revealed that she wasn’t planning on being a part of the final series. However, the ITV bosses needed her to conclude the hit show.

Brenda said: “I love my Vera family, but I love my other family too. And when you consider I was already thinking about packing work in when I was offered the job back in 2010, 14 series of working on Vera is pretty good going.”

“I wasn’t actually going to do any more after series 13, but of course, ITV said they needed to wind the series. So I said, ‘Oh go on then, I’ll do a couple more episodes.’”

Although she joked about the show moving close to her home in Kent, she believes only North East and Northumberland could do justice to the show.

The star said: “Northumberland and the wider North East is so varied and beautiful. It’s not just one thing. It’s the seascapes, the landscapes, the moors, the cities.”

Brenda has been married to Michael Mayhew since 2010 (Credit: Shutterstock)

Will the series return?

Although it has been confirmed that Vera will end with fourteen seasons under its belt, Brenda’s fellow star Ibinabo Jack, teased that the show could carry on without the main character.

Ibinabo was on BBC Breakfast when Jon Kay asked her, “I suppose when Brenda steps down that surely means Vera has to end, doesn’t it? You can’t have Vera without Brenda.”

She said in response: “Unless they did a prequel? Like early days?” Sally Nugent said: “A prequel is a fabulous idea! That’s what we need to know, more of Vera’s backstory. It’s a genius idea!”

The season finale will see Vera unravel the mystery of a young man’s dead body washed up on the banks of the River Tyne.