Vera icon Brenda Blethyn reveals her emotional reaction to filming final scenes on show
"I couldn't speak!"
The last episode of ITV's Vera aired at the start of this year in January and now, leading star Brenda Blethyn has revealed just what it was like to film that fateful final episode.
Appearing on BBC One's The One Show last night (Wednesday 5th November) to promote her new film Dragonfly, Blethyn said of her final day on the Vera set: "I was crying too. I couldn’t speak!”
David Suchet, who joined Blethyn on the sofa, also shared about his last day on the Poirot set: "It was a very emotional day because suddenly, you do your last scene and somebody says ‘okay, that’s a wrap’, and you think, ‘yeah, it’s a wrap, that’s the end of 25 years’, and I got very emotional.
"You live with these people you create – 25 years of being that person, he becomes part of me, and I know him better than many other people.”
Blethyn had spent the past 14 years at the helm of ITV's Vera, and has been busy since the show came to an end. New venture Dragonfly has already seen her scoop up a nomination at this year's British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) nominations.
Blethyn and her co-star Andrea Riseborough are nominated together in the Best Joint Performance Category for their Dragonfly roles, with the film heading to UK cinemas this Friday (7th November).
Speaking about her new film role, Blethyn said: “We’ve probably all got a neighbour in the street somewhere who is perhaps lonely, and we don’t pay much attention to it. Or some people might be blaming the carers, but they’ve got to see 20 other people in the same day, so everyone is doing a splendid job, but people fall down in the cracks.”
Previously speaking to The Telegraph about the film and how it encompasses the technology and social divide amongst the generations, Blethyn said: “I remember a time when you’d look up the road for the postman to come, you know, you’d get handwritten letters from your friends and family.
"Then that went out the window and you got a phone call. Then it’s emails. Then it’s a text. Now it’s emoticons. People get a thumbs-up [on a mobile phone] as a response to a question. What’s that supposed to mean?
“At least when letters stopped, there was the telephone, you could have a conversation. But now it’s all this, and elderly people don’t really know how all that works.”
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The official synopsis for the film reads: "Have we become a nation of strangers? In Dragonfly, neglected pensioner Elsie finds an unexpected ally in her younger neighbour Colleen. Over time, Elsie gains a friend and the troubled Colleen finds a fresh purpose in life as she shops, cleans and cares for her. It brings brighter days for both of them.
"Elsie’s son John resents the way that Colleen has selflessly fulfilled the responsibilities that he has shirked. Simmering tensions bring shocking consequences in a gripping human story straight from the heart of broken Britain."
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Dragonfly will be available to watch in UK cinemas from Friday 7th November.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
