VERA actor Kenny Doughty has confessed that "personal reasons" forced him to make the decision to leave the popular crime drama after almost ten years in the role.

Kenny was famed for starring as DC Aiden Healy alongside Brenda Blethyn in the title role as Vera Stanhope.

However, the show's upcoming Christmas special, entitled The Rising Tide, will be his final ever episode with the show.

It was confirmed earlier this year that he would be bowing out, much to the outcry of loyal fans of the show, with Kenny now revealing that "personal" reasons were a factor in him deciding to depart.

He said: “There were lots of personal and professional reasons
why I wanted to move on.

"I have loved doing Vera 100 per cent. It has been a life-changing job for so many reasons."

Read More on Vera

SHOW & TELL

Our town is setting for TV drama…filming was chaos but Geordie Shore was worse

end is nigh

Vera Christmas special rocked by major death as beloved character replaced

Kenny was originally scheduled to depart earlier this year following the conclusions of the fleeting twelfth series but bosses convinced him to stay on for the Christmas special.

He said: “I made the decision before we started filming series 12.

"That was initially going to be the four films screened at the start of 2023. But then halfway through filming they said, ‘Can we do a Christmas special as well?’ So it was a long goodbye.

"With The Rising Tide being my last episode filmed in November and December 2022."

Most read in Drama

open road

BBC confirms return of legendary drama – and it’s just weeks away

resuscitated

ITV medical drama renewed for second series – but without lead actress

star cast

Succession & Harry Potter stars join beloved drama after BBC confirmed its return

new ground

BBC drama returning to screens for new series in days – but with a major change

Kenny also praised his co-star Brenda at length as he revealed the close bond between them and how they would often spend their evenings together watching Coronation Street when not on set.

The actor said: “We spend up to 16 hours a day in each other’s
company during filming.

"Also sharing neighbouring apartments in Newcastle for several months each year. Not only would we share and talk together but we
were also at ease when we didn’t want to talk.

"We could sit down, have a cup of tea, watch Coronation Street together and not speak. We could just be ourselves.

"Sometimes as an actor it’s easy to feel like you always have to be ‘on’. So it was nice for us just to decompress on our own.

“There are long periods between scenes where you have to wait for things to be set up. Brenda and I have probably spent half of our shooting life sat next to each other in the Land Rover while waiting to film.

"We’ve both got the same silly sense of humour. I think we would both agree that Brenda is my best audience and I’m her best audience when it comes to our silly voices, our jokes and humour."

His final episode, set to air later this month, looks set to be a real Christmas cracker.

Fans will watch as Kenny Doughty bows out of the role before being promptly replaced on screen by David Leon.

David, 43, will portray Joe Ashworth as he teams up with Vera to help investigate the suicide of Rick Kelasall.

Read more on The Sun

FINAL FIX

Sceptical Strictly fans accuse show of fix in favour of ‘BBC favourite’

KITCHEN SKILLS

Sue Radford's daughter Tillie shows off cooking skills as she makes dessert

A synopsis for the upcoming episode teases: "It may be the run up to Christmas but this doesn’t mean that DCI Vera Stanhope can slow down and enjoy a bit of Secret Santa and some mince pies – far from it as the apparent suicide of Rick Kelsall sees Vera’s boss insist
that she personally take a look into the case as it’s a high profile death on Holy Island and that’s her home stomping
ground.

"Vera soon works out that there is more to Rick’s death than initially suspected, he was murdered."

Source: Read Full Article