David Leon's return to Vera has left co-star Brenda Blethyn 'over the moon,' almost a decade after his exit from the ITV show left the actress heartbroken.
There was some big news for Vera fans on Thursday, when it was confirmed by ITV, after some uncertainty in the wake of Kenny Doughty's exit, that it is coming back for a 13th series. And then next major announcement was the fact that North East actor David, who was DCI Stanhope's original sidekick Joe Ashworth, is joining her once again.
Former Cutting It star David was in the original Vera cast when the programme launched in 2011, before quitting after four series; leaving his co-star and leading lady absolutely devastated.
READ MORE: ITV's Vera series 13 officially confirmed as new sidekick's identity revealed
Ahead of the final episode of Vera's last run airing on Sunday, February 19, Brenda said: "Kenny is my mate, my buddy. I never thought I’d get over David Leon going in series four. That broke my heart."
And now Brenda is absolutely ecstatic to be welcoming David back. Commenting on his return and Kenny and co-star Ibinabo Jack's exits, she said: "It's been such a pleasure to work alongside Kenny and Ibinabo. They've both been terrific members of the Vera team and I'll miss them. I'm absolutely over the moon to welcome David back to the show and can’t wait to get started.”
David's return has become a big talking point online, with one fan taking to Twitter to post: "Well I did not expect this but I'm so happy. Great news and a very welcome back to David Leon" Equally excited, a second wrote: "Great news and great to see David Leon returning too. Vera can’t go on forever and if the show is close to the end having David back will be a full circle moment."
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