Q: How is Vera when we meet her again in the first film of series 13: Fast Love?

“Vera is on her own at the start of the new series. DS Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty) is no longer around and so Vera has to explain what has happened to him.”

Q: David Leon returns having played Joe in the first four series of VERA. How did your screen reunion with David come about?

“After we filmed The Rising Tide at the end of 2022 I didn’t want to do any more without Kenny Doughty, who had decided to leave. But I said, ‘I’ll think about it if you can see if David Leon is available to return as Joe Ashworth.’ And so they did and here I am.

“I was broken-hearted when David left after Series Four and equally overjoyed when I heard he was coming back as the relationship between Vera and Joe worked so well. They have all of that early history together.

“I wouldn’t have continued if David had not agreed to come back. I just didn’t want to start another board game with somebody else when I know I’m not going to do many more. And who would want to do it anyway?”

Q: What was it like filming together again?

“It was fabulous. Working together was certainly as good as I remembered, if not better. It’s a shock for Vera when Joe appears. She’s pleased to see him. But then her nose is really put out of joint when she finds out why he’s there.”

Q: What does David’s return bring to the production?

“David’s return helps refresh the series. People were very upset when he left after having played Joe in the first four series of Vera. And people were delighted when it was announced that he was returning for these new films.

“It also took away the disappointment of Kenny leaving. Because people also loved Aiden. There is no- one better to replace the character of Aiden Healy on screen than Joe Ashworth. David is also delightful to work with. What a nice man he is. He also once directed an episode of Vera. A series eight story called Black Ice screened in 2018. So he’s on the ball. He knows what he is doing and I think it shows on screen. He’s good.”

Q: Does Joe’s return bring back some memories from their shared past?

“There are echoes in the first new film of the very first Vera episode which keen fans may spot. Including a scene at the North Shields fish quay where her father Hector’s ashes were scattered.

“The week after we had finished filming for series 13 I went back there to unveil a sculpture - ‘The Herring Girl’ - to honour the herring girls. They had a very hard life following the herring fishing fleet in all weathers from the north of Scotland and down the east coast of England. In the days before refrigeration they were a team of women whose job was to gut, salt and pack the fish into barrels using sharp knives so that it could be sold back on land. A heroic job to do.

“It was a delight to travel back to North Shields from London on a day trip with my brother to remember those women. There were lots of children from local schools there for the unveiling ceremony and when they saw me, they were chanting ‘Vera, Vera’ in the style of the Newcastle United football chant ‘Shearer, Shearer!’”

Q: Vera has a new face on her team in this series?

“DC Steph Duncan, played by Rhiannon Clements, brings a new vitality to the team, another dynamic. Which is a bonus. She’s ambitious and wants to progress to prove herself as a valued member of Vera’s team. But, as ever, Vera doesn’t cut her any slack. Joe tells Steph that Vera can be ‘infuriating’. Which I agree with!”

Q: Where did you film this first series 13 story?

“It involves a number of market stall holders so we filmed scenes in Hexham in Northumberland, which we call Bentham. It was a lovely setting with the real market there and Hexham Abbey across the road. I was able to take a few minutes off to take and look inside the Abbey.

“We filmed a scene where Vera is sat opposite a market stall holder, played by Andrew Dunn, in a local cafe as he is eating a fry up. We couldn’t do too many takes of that as he would have eaten three plates full. As it was, he did rather well

“I also fell over a few times when Vera was running on a slippery floor in another scene. Or at least walking fast! I went flying but I was OK.”

Q: You met a group of young VERA fans while filming elsewhere in Northumberland?

“Some children from Corbridge Middle School came to watch the filming on a new estate close to their school. I went and chatted to them. I love it when kids are enthusiastic to come and find out how it all goes on behind the scenes. I tried to explain to them about all of the different jobs that each member of the crew were doing.”

Q: This is the first film shot at the new Vera studio base in Killingworth, North Tyneside, after moving from Wallsend?

“The Vera sets were transported there from Wallsend so they look identical. But we also now have a long corridor to film in and a proper reception going into the car park with a new frontage to the police station with a ‘Northumberland and City Police’ sign outside.”

Q: Vera is in a rush in the second film: Tender. She always seems to be in a hurry?

“Vera is always in a rush. That is her life. Work is her life. It’s always an emergency when she is called out to work. But Vera is silenced for once in this story. Having suffered with toothache throughout. She’s the type of person who avoids going to the dentist at all costs. But while Vera is not one for going to the dentist, I have no fear. What’s the point of being frightened?

“A charity asked me if I would visit somebody in Northern Ireland who was dying of cancer. So I went to visit him and asked how he planned anything. He said, ‘I just live for today. I don’t think ahead. Don’t worry. Just plan for today and take things as they come. Don’t worry ahead about things. What is the point in doing that?’

“I told him I was about to clean out the shed at my house. It was cram packed with stuff, together with spiders and cobwebs. And I was frightened to do it because I’m not a fan of spiders. So I told him, ‘Do you know what, I’m going to apply that when I get home and clean that shed out. I’m frightened I’m going to see a spider.

“But now I’m not going to be frightened UNTIL I see a spider.’ And I cleaned the whole shed out. There were spiders but I carried on. They scuttled away being more frightened of me. So I did it all on my own. And it’s the same about going to the dentist. I’m not frightened - until there is a reason to be.”

Q: The third film is called Salt and Vinegar. Where did you film that?

“We filmed that on the seafront at Redcar and it features two fish and chip shops. Vera is very partial to fish and chips. Lovely. I also like fish and chips. I don’t have them very often but I do like them.
“It was a very hot day when we were filming on the seafront there and an 81-year-old lady who was among the fans watching us fainted. We saw a bit of commotion in the crowd and our crew medics went over. When they came back I said, ‘What’s up?’ They said, ‘A lady has passed out in the heat.’ I said, ‘Is she alright?’ They said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, she’s fine. She’s sitting down now but she wants to stay and watch the filming.’

“And so we carried on and then I saw the medic go over there again. I said, ‘Are you sure that lady is alright?’ They said, ‘Yes, stop worrying about it.’ Then I saw them go back again and it did worry me. I said, ‘Sorry. I’m going to have to stop filming. I want to go and make sure that lady is alright.’ So I went over and I chatted to her for a few minutes.

“She was going, ‘Ohhh...it’s Vera!’ And she was alright. Well blow me down, when I got home it was on the TV news that night! They had gone to the lady’s house and interviewed her. She was so sweet and excited!

“So many people come to watch the Vera filming. The fans are just so generous. A lady turned up from Australia and gave me a cloth kangaroo. I was also given a crochet replica of Vera, about a foot tall. It’s marvellous. It has pride of place on my mantlepiece.”

Q: We see a different side to Vera in this film?

“There’s a scene where she is out doing the gardening at her cottage. The script called for ‘relaxed Sunday clothes’. So Vera has got a pair of dungarees on and Wellington boots. The dungarees belonged to her dad Hector. Vera is not very green fingered. She did learn a thing or two from her mum. But her enthusiasm for it is not there. We also learn a little more about Vera’s past in this series.”

Q: What’s the future for Vera? After filming a series you always say ‘never again’. But then change your mind?

“At the moment there is nothing planned. But that’s not to say they’re not talking about it. There might be a winding up. I don’t know. Ann Cleeves is also writing her 11th Vera book. So, there’s also that to consider. But a whole series? I think not. We’ll see.”