Yahoo News Vera's biggest breakthrough stars who shot to fame on ITV drama - from music icon to Barbie actor
Vera fans are still trying to come to terms with the fact that their favourite drama will come to an end next year and, as well as being a huge ratings winner over the last 13 years, the show has also been the springboard for the careers of some major stars.
There was shock and upset this week when it was confirmed by ITV that Vera will wrap up in 2025, with just two new episodes in the pipeline before credits are set to roll for the last time. By the time the two upcoming stories air, it will be 14 years since Vera made its debut, with pilot episode Hidden Depths introducing viewers to Brenda Blethyn's famous sleuthing alias DCI Stanhope back in 2011.
That very first episode brought a much talked about cameo from a teenager who would go onto be one of the hottest properties in British music, while other stars who to have appeared on the show have gone onto be in Hollywood blockbusters and even be a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.
Get all the latest TV and showbiz news and gossip from Chronicle Live with our free newsletter..
As the Vera cast prepare to get back in front of camera to film series 14, we look at some of the stars who shot to fame on the show.
Sam Fender
We'll star with the man who has the unexpected clam to fame of being the first ever murder victim on Vera. Appearing in the show's pilot, eight years before debut album Hypersonic Missiles stormed to number 1, Sam's character Luke Armstrong was killed off in the opening minutes, with his lifeless corpse being looked at by Vera as it lay in a bathtub.
Vera wasn't North Shields star Sam's only acting role, he also starred in BBC's Wolfblood before going onto be a multiple Brit winner and world famous star, selling out venues across the globe, including two at St James' Park in Newcastle last summer.
Kingsley Ben-Adir
Kingsley played pathologist Dr Marcus from series 4-6, before coming back a few years later. Since flying the nest from the show, has gone onto star in Oscar nominated movie One Night in Miami and played a Ken Doll in Barbie the much publicised Greta Gerwig film that was released in the summer and went onto be 2023's biggest film.
Kinsley starred alongside leads Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in the movie inspired by the iconic doll, with other famous faces in the cast list including Will Ferrell, Ugly Betty actress America Ferrera and New Rules singer Dua Lipa.
Earlier this year he added another top role to his CV, getting to play Bob Marley in a biopic on the music legend, being snapped on set alongside co-stars like Happy Valley's James Norton.
Cush Jumbo
After appearing in series two and five as Bethany, Cush's one episode of Vera's sixth series proved to be her last, as Bethany was killed off.
Since her tragic exit from Vera, Cush went onto be a regular cast member in the 2015–2016 season of world famous CBS series The Good Wife, also going onto star in its spin-off, The Good Fight.
In 2022, she received an Olivier nomination for her star turn on stage in Hamlet and was also a guest judge on BBC's RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 5 in the autumn. She made a return to the realms of British TV drama this year, starring alongside Peter Capaldi in Criminal Record.
Soon she will be back on ITV in the lead role of gripping new revenge thriller The Beast Must Die.
Wunmi Mosaku
It was back in 2011 that Wunmi first appeared alongside Brenda Blethyn as DC Holly Lawson in the first ever series of Vera and, in a recent interview, spoke about how working with acclaimed actress Brenda 'changed' her approach to her craft, explaining: "The thing I remember most fondly and I think this changed me as an actor was I watched her and you get taught to ignore the camera in drama school, but when I was watching her, I realised she wasn’t ignoring the camera.
“The camera was the audience and she was making sure the audience knew what was going on. If she turned away from me, she was never turning away from the audience."
After leaving Vera, Wunmi went onto star in Luther and Kiri and in Damilola, Our Beloved Boy, the 2016 TV film about the murder of youngster Damilola Taylor. Most recently she took the lead role in ITV's opinion dividing drama Passenger.
Riley Jones
We'll end the list with a star who is still very much part of the Vera cast. Northumbria University graduate Riley has been on the drama from day one, playing Northumberland & City's DC Mark Edwards.
A valued member of DCI Stanhope's team, Riley was championed by plenty of Vera fans as a potential replacement for Kenny Doughty, when he quit as sidekick DS Aiden Healy last year.
