Vera star reveals exciting new role alongside real-life wife after quitting hit ITV drama
ITV VERA’S on-screen partner has found a new home – starring alongside his real-life wife.
Kenny Doughty played DC Aiden Healey, starring alongside Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope, until his final scenes for the 2023 Christmas special.
Vera fans were gutted by his departure but are now excited that he will take up a new role, playing opposite his spouse, Ashley Jensen, who currently stars in another popular crime drama, BBC‘s Shetland.
The pair will appear together in Wax Fruit – a Scottish classic set in Victorian Glasgow.
The adaptation of Guy McCrone’s novel follows the rise of the Moorhouse family, who swapped farming for city life during the industrial boom.
Ashley will play Sophia, while Kenny will play William and in an Instagram post sharing a picture of them in character together, he wrote: “A Scottish period drama with wonderful scripts, locations but most importantly characters & stories for everyone.”
After playing detective Aidan for almost a decade, Kenny left the show in 2023, citing personal reasons for his departure.
At the time, he told The Sun Online: “There were many personal and professional reasons why I wanted to move on.”
A few months after leaving the show, Kenny and Ashley eloped in a secret ceremony at Priston Mill near Bath.
The wedding came six years after the Ugly Betty actress found her former husband had committed suicide.
Kenny and Ashley appeared together as husband and wife at the 2023 Scottish BAFTA Awards, where they revealed their union to the world.
Wax Fruit follows an Ayrshire farming family as they settle into city life.
It is set to be an epic Victorian saga which portrays Glasgow in a new light away from drugs and crime.
Fleabag‘s Bill Paterson will join Ashley and Kenny in the cast.
It also includes Shirley Henderson – known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter – and Julie Cadzow, who starred in Wicker Man.
Vera's Cast Over The Last 14 Years
Since its launch back in 2011 Vera has gripped ITV viewers with its crime stories - and dozens of actors have appeared in the show, including:
- Brenda Blethyn
- David Leon
- Jon Morrison
- Riley Jones
- Wunmi Mosaku
- Paul Ritter
- Cush Jumbo
- Sonya Cassidy
- Clare Calbraith
- Kingsley Ben-Adir
- Kenny Doughty
- Lisa Hammond
- Noof McEwan
- Christopher Colquhoun
- Steve Evets
- Ibinabo Jack
- Paul Kaye
- Sarah Kameela
- Rhiannon Clements