Vera star fights back tears as he makes emotional announcement ahead of final ever series

A STAR from ITV crime drama Vera admitted to fighting back tears while on his way to shoot the final scenes of the last series.

Riley Jones has been a member of the cast from the very beginning of the show, playing young police officer Mark Edwards.

ITV

The last season of Vera is currently being filmed[/caption]

Rex

Rex

Fans and cast members are emotional about the show coming to a close[/caption]

He opened up about his reaction to reading a piece celebrating the show’s legacy while commuting to set.

Riley told his fan base: “Heading up to Newcastle to film my last few scenes for Vera and reading this article by @Graemethedean.

“Weird that someone is chopping onions on the train.”

Heartbroken fans flocked to the comments to share how grateful they are for the role he has played on the series all these years.

One person wrote: “Thank you and your colleagues for many hours of pleasure.

“British crime shows are my and my sons ‘thing’ according to him and we are currently watching Vera for the third time – one of our 2 favs.”

Another gushed: “It’s given us all such pleasure over the years and we will continue to watch repeats!

“We’ve grown to love you all dearly and will miss you all terribly. Thank you all so much for the entertainment… Sending huge hugs to you and the crew.”

Earlier this year ITV bosses revealed that the next season of Vera would be the last.

The 14th series will only consist of two 90 minute episodes, which are set to conclude the journey fans have been on since 2011.

When the drama started airing it quickly became an ITV staple, and 54 episodes have been broadcast to date.

However, TV executives decided it was the end of an era when leading woman Brenda Blethyn quit the show.

She made an emotional statement announcing her departure earlier this year, sharing: “Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying Cheerio. 

“But I am so proud of our achievements over the last fourteen
years. I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role.

“The Producers, dream cast and crew have been fabulous and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the north east and our fans worldwide.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”