But the show’s pilot episode starred an unexpected North East music superstar.
Long before he sold out St James’ Park two nights in a row, Sam Fender played a part in Vera’s pilot episode back in 2011.
Playing murdered 15-year-old Luke Armstrong, the role was his TV debut. He also starred in a 2012 episode of CBBC drama Wolfblood as Dean.
Appearing in the same episode as North East actor Gina McKee, Sam wasn’t on screen for long as Luke was attacked in bed, before his dead body was discovered in a bathtub and later inspected by DCI Stanhope.
Brenda Blethyn, alongside her original sidekick David Leon—who made a return to Vera for series 13—then set out to unravel the mystery of Sam’s character’s death.
(Image: ITV) Most read
Get the latest news, sports, and entertainment delivered straight to your device by subscribing to The Northern Echo here.
Their investigation begins with insights from Vera’s first resident pathologist portrayed by the late Paul Ritter, known for his role in Friday Night Dinner.
sam’s tv debut in 2010 (vera s1e01) playing murdered 15 year old luke armstrong, found dead in a bath of wild flowers pic.twitter.com/VPQaNfy2KU
— sam fender files (@samfenderfiles) November 3, 2021
North Shields native Sam was just a teenager when he appeared in Vera. The episode aired eight years before he achieved the Critics’ Choice Award at the Brits and secured his first number-one album with Hypersonic Missiles.
Speaking to Radio X, Fender said: “I got killed in the first ever episode of that ITV detective programme called Vera set in the North East.
“I lasted like 10 seconds I think.”
Fender recently cancelled his Newcastle concert at the Utilita Arena after damaging his vocal cords – saying he was “absolutely heartbroken” to let fans down.
The singer kicked off the first leg of his People Watching Tour in December and is scheduled to play several packed-out nights at St James’ Park once again in June.