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, acting 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 could be poised to take up a new role, playing opposite his spouse, Shetland star Ashley Jensen.

The pair appear together in a seven-minute teaser released for a potential TV adaptation of the Scottish Victorian classic Wax Fruit - although nothing has been commissioned yet.

There are full episodic outlines for Seasons 1–5, and the show has secured support from Creative Scotland, with Episode 1 written by Alastair Galbraith Sexy Beast (Paramount Plus) and This is Christmas.

Guy McCrone's Glasgow-set novel follows the rise of the Moorhouse family, who swapped farming for city life during the industrial boom.

In an Instagram post showing a picture of them as the characters Sophia and William, Kenny wrote: "A Scottish period drama with wonderful scripts, locations but most importantly characters and stories for everyone."

After playing detective Aidan for almost a decade, Kenny left Vera 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  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 is poised to redefine the period drama genre and portray Glasgow in a new light.

Those who have read the novel will know that the Moorhouse family, uproot from their wild, remote farm in the Highlands and find themselves in 1870s Glasgow—one of the richest, most glamorous cities in Europe.

They navigate power struggles, romantic entanglements and societal challenges with remarkable Scottish resilience.

Executive Producer Purser said, ‘We’re blown away by the buzz Wax Fruit is generating.

"There’s a palpable understanding of the immense potential this flagship series has in bringing the vivid, vibrant, wonderful world of Wax Fruit to life for an international audience - and, in so doing, celebrating Glasgow and Scotland on a global stage.’

The seven-minute teaser cast includes Martin Compston (Line of Duty, Vigil) as Arthur, Outlander, and Fleabag's Bill Paterson as Lord Macallan.

It also features Shirley Henderson - known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter as Mary - and Julie Cadzow, who starred in Wicker Man.

And then there's Frankie Corio (Aftersun) as young Phoebe; Rosie Graham (The School for Good and Evil, Outlander) as housemaid Sarah; BAFTA winner Elaine C. Smith (Two Doors Down) as Mrs. Barrowfield and BAFTA winner Molly Windsor (Three Girls, Out of the Dust) as Bel Moorhouse.