Vera's Kenny Doughty sparks 'return' plea from fans after link to BBC drama

Kenny Doughty has sparked a barrage of pleas from Vera fans, desperate for him to 'return' to the hit drama, a year after he confirmed he was leaving.

Kenny filmed his final scenes as second sidekick Aiden Healy towards the end of 2022, as he and co-stars including Brenda Blethyn, Riley Jones and Jon Morrison, reunited to shoot Christmas special The Rising Tide. After worrying fans by posting a series of Vera behind the scenes shots on his Instagram and captioning them 'Thank you for the memories,' Kenny then confirmed he'd left the show weeks later, as he reflected on the difficulty decision to 'hand his badge in.'

Die hard viewers were left gutted by the news that Kenny had quit Vera, with them then blindsided by the news that his predecessor, David Leon, was making a shock return as Joe Ashworth. As David got back on set, Kenny married other half and fellow actor Ashley Jensen in November last year, not long after she'd been filmed scenes as the new lead in Shetland, the BBC drama also written by Vera author Ann Cleeves.

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And, earlier this month, Kenny revealed he'd joined Ashley in Shetland as she returned to the role of Ruth Calder for another series. Kenny let slip his location by posting a photo of the couple's dogs looking out on a stunning view and, the comments section of the post was quickly filled with Vera related replies.

One told the actor: "Please go back to Vera...its not the same without you" as a second, echoing the same sentiments, wrote: "Vera’s not the same without you" and a third commented: "Miss you in Vera but happy that you seem to be in a good place! Enjoy!"

Kenny's former Vera castmates will soon start filming series 14 of the much loved drama, after it was confirmed that it would return for two new episodes in 2025.