A whole host of guest stars have been confirmed for the upcoming Vera Christmas special, including actors who will be very familiar to fans of EastEnders and crime drama Lewis.
While Vera viewers were fully expecting to have to wait until next year to get their nest fix of sleuthing supremo DCI Stanhope, it was announced earlier this week that a festive episode will air on ITV before the year is out, based on author Ann Cleeves hit novel from last year, The Rising Tide. The feature length tale, which was filmed around the North East and Northumberland towards the end of 2022, will see leading lady Brenda Blethyn once again at the forefront of the action, as co-stars like Jon Morrison (Kenny) and Riley Jones (Mark) join her to crack the case.
The Rising Tide will also be tinged with some sadness, as it will be the final appearance for Kenny Doughty as Vera’s sidekick Aiden Healy. Before the news was officially confirmed by ITV in the announcement of cast shake-up for series 13, Kenny took to Instagram to reveal to fans that he’d made the ‘difficult decision’ to walk away from the role, paying tribute to the Vera cast and crew in an emotional post,
READ MORE: ITV Vera stars’ exits ‘sealed’ as Christmas special details leaked and fans gutted
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Kenny isn’t the only Vera star to be bowing out at Christmas either, as Ibinabo Jack will also be seen for a final time as Jac, with Ibinabo reported to be leaving the hit drama to focus on theatre commitments.
As well as their now former cast members like Brenda, Kenny and Riley, the departing duo will also share the screen with a series of guest stars, the most famous of them being Lewis star Clare Holman and Suzette Llewellyn, who has appeared in EastEnders. Clare starrted alongside Geordie acting icon and Auf Wiederehen Pet legend Kevin Whateley in Lewis, having initially starred as her character Dr Laura Hobson in Inspector Morse. She appeared in Morse from 1995 to 2000 and then all 33 episodes of Lewis from 2006 to 2015.
Suzette is being known for playing Sheree Trueman in EastEnders from 2019-2021 and has also appeared in numerous other soaps, including Coronation Street, Doctors and Hollyoaks. Other names in the Vera cast list for the Christmas special include Cora Kirk, Jake Ashton-Nelson, Adrian Mills, Brian Bovell, Orlessa Altass, Phil Cornwell, Adrian Rawlins, Kate Isitt, Felicity Dean, Natasha Patel, Sara Powell, Martin Turner, Eric Richard, Phillippa Wilson, Liz Crowther, Sam Halpenny and Peter Peverley.
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