*THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS LOTS OF SPOILERS FOR VERA’S ITV FINALE*
After fears that she might be killed off, Brenda Blethyn made it out of the Vera finale alive, as her famous character was given a moving exit, in a poignant final scene that left viewers close to tears.
As soon as it was announced by ITV last year that Vera’s 14th series would be its last, thoughts turned to just how the show would end its 14 year stint on screen and what would happen to Brenda Blethyn’s famous character. Concern for the fate of no nonsense Northumberland & City Police sleuth DCI Stanhope was heightened when it was revealed that she would be ‘in danger’ in finale The Dark Wives, just 24 hours after she was caught up in a frantic cliff top confrontation in new series opener Inside.
The Vera finale finale began with an unexpected flashback to Vera’s youth, as the character of her dad, Hector Stanhope appeared on screen for the first time, having been spoken about on numerous occasions since the show launched back in 2011 and Vera got rid of his ashes in the very first episode.
Wednesday’s show featured a number of flashbacks featuring a much younger Vera, as the lid was lifted on her tough relationship with her father and the detective was reluctant to discuss her possible promotion with sidekick DI Joe Ashworth, played by David Leon.. The offer of a new role for Vera arrived right at the start of the new series, as ex Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati joined the Vera cast as Superintendent Khalon.
And, having stayed tight-lipped on her decision, Vera was seen handing a letter to her superior in the closing minutes of the final episode, with another letter appearing on her desk at work the morning after, as she was nowhere to be seen and viewers were treated to another flashback of a young Vera telling her unimpressed dad she wanted to be join the police.
The short note, addressed to Joe, told him it was ‘time to spread his wings,’ with it presumed that, rather than taking the promotion, DCI Stanhope had decided to step back, as Brenda was then seen in character in one last scene, as Vera happily walked along a causeway, with a dog she’d chased from her garden earlier in the episode.