-Credit:ITV

Brenda Blethyn has ‘officially confirmed’ the fate of her much loved character Vera, leaving fans in no doubt as to what the ending of Thursday’s finale was all about, as the actress admitted she ‘could have cried’ after filming her last scene.

After being hooked on the North East shot crime drama since 2011, millions tuned into ITV to see just how Vera would end and if Brenda’s alias DCI Stanhope would make it out alive, following plenty of speculation that she may be ‘killed off’ to give the show a memorable ending.

Thankfully, to the relief of Vera’s many fans, there was no grisly end for Vera, with her instead seen handing a note to her Superintendent and telling the boss she was ‘making way for others to fly,’ having mulled over the offer of a promotion. The next scene saw the DCI clearing her desk, before leaving Northumberland & City Police HQ with her belongings in a box.

When Vera failed to show up for work the next day, sidekick DI Joe Ashworth walked into her office to find a note addressed to him, which told him it was ‘time to spread his wings.’ The very last scene of the Vera finale then saw Brenda’s character walking a dog down the Holy Island causeway with a huge smile on her face.

And, the suspicion from most fans that Vera had retired, rather than accepted the promotion, has now been confirmed by Brenda herself. Speaking about the final episode in ITV documentary Vera, Farewell Pet, on Friday night, she explained: “I didn’t want her to be killed off, as I suspected she’d be living on in the books (by Ann Cleeves).

“She’s a sensible woman Vera, she knows when it’s time to call it a day; in the same way Brenda Blethyn knows when it’s time to call it a day.” Looking visibly moved, Brenda added: “You know when the time is right.” As cameras then cut to the final day of Vera filming in July 2024, Brenda said: “I have to say the last day of filming, I was very emotional. It’s her packing up her stuff and backing out of the office and I could have cried to be honest.”

And, just be sure there was absolutely no lingering confusion bout Vera’s ending, the documentary’s narrator Jill Halfpenny told viewers: “After starting as a young recruit in the Met, Vera retired from the force with a new four-legged sidekick.”