Veras Riley Jones on change to character as he addresses future
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Mark Edwards (played by Riley Jones) first met DCI Stanhope (played by Brenda Blethyn) in the first series of Vera as a uniformed police officer. Mark was first on the scene after finding a woman’s body at the side of the road. However, he quickly impressed the detective and was promoted, and he has remained an integral part of Vera’s team ever since.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, the actor who plays Mark discussed how his character has changed during the 12 years of playing him.
When asked whether he’d like to feature more in the ITV series, Riley said: “Whatever was to happen I’d be happy to have more to do.
“But it is how the show goes and I am more than happy in my role in the show and I have been there for a long time now.
“It is great to hear that fans want to see more, that is always lovely to hear.
“I think the fans understand and appreciate the journey of Mark’s character and how he has come up from the ranks of being a uniformed officer.
“And we’ve seen him…I was very young at the time, it was my first TV job, so it feels like the audience has seen Mark grow up at the same time as me as an actor growing up.
“It’s lovely to hear the audience would like to see more because that can’t possibly be a bad thing.”
When chatting about how his character has developed over the years, Riley continued: “I wouldn’t say he has matured a lot because I always thought he was a sort of mature and level-headed guy.
“I think initially, it was that sort of nervous, awkward energy of being… when he gets brought into the CID room, that’s quite a daunting prospect.
“There was a lot of comedy value with that as well, which was really nice actually.
“You can bounce off Brenda when she’s having a dig at Mark for something he’s done wrong.
“And then on the flip side, there will be moments where Vera will be like, ‘Well done, Mark’.
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“As the years have gone on, the character gets more established,” he added.
“He’s a sort of a more permanent fixture in the team, so those moments don’t happen as frequently because the character has become more comfortable.
“So I think Mark is very much at a point where he knows the job and the role within the team.
“He knows what he should be looking for and it’s often to do with the CCTV and it’s often to do with anything laptop related and getting information.”
The Mark Edwards star went on to say: “It’s been nice to develop that character and take them on a journey.”
Recently, Kenny Doughty, who plays Aiden Healy and Ibinabo jac, who plays Jac Wiliiams confirmed their departure from the ITV drama.
When asked about whether Riley thinks about his future as Mark, the actor admitted: “I tend not to really because all of that is out of your hands as an actor really.
“You just do what you can and then when the scripts come in, and you read them, you can’t really have much influence over that.”
“I am happy to be working and doing the job,” he added.
Vera is expected to air on ITV next year.
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