Vera star Brenda Blethyn has admitting to “avoiding fans” in order to not “jeopardise” the filming schedule of the hit ITV detective drama.
Fans of the show have been patiently waiting for Brenda’s return as DCI Vera Stanhope after a long two-year hiatus.
The drama, based on Ann Cleeve’s award-winning novels, is back on screen with season 12 consisting of four two-hour long films airing every Sunday night.
And as the show returns with more head-scratching investigations, Brenda has revealed the cast and crew have been taking lengthy measures to get the series on screen on time and avoid filming being halted.
Fans understandably take a keen interest in the shows filming process when they come across the team in various locations around Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Northumberland.
But their curiosity can bring some challenges.
When asked by ITV about fans gathering to watch them filming, Blethyn explained: “It’s all changed since the pandemic because now you just have to be careful, sadly avoiding close contact with people who come along to watch filming.
"You are constantly using sanitiser. So as not to jeopardise filming."
But fans’ obsession with their favourite on screen detective hasn’t been deterred by the precautions as Brenda noted: “But it’s lovely to see them at things like the ‘Viva Vera’ event we had at the Whitley Bay Playhouse in September 2022 with Ann Cleeves and Jon Morrison (DC Kenny Lockhart) to mark the publication of The Rising Tide.
"The enthusiasm of Vera fans is gorgeous.
“When I walked on stage as Vera a few years back at one of the ‘Sunday For Sammy’ concerts in Newcastle, in aid of young performers and creatives in the North East, the stadium roof almost came off.
"That’s the enthusiasm for the character. It was like scoring a goal at the World Cup."
