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Prodigal Son
Season 3, Episode 4
The detective is brought in to investigate when a former Met police officer is stabbed to death outside a nightclub in Newcastle. The team initially suspects a crime of passion after it emerges the victim had recently rekindled his affair with his childhood sweetheart, whose husband has a history of violence. However, Vera uncovers evidence pointing to a more complex case involving inside information and the hostile takeover of a brewery. What did the deceased find out that cost him his life? Guest starring Jill Halfpenny, Christine Bottomley, Ralph Ineson and Liam Cunningham
HD
subtitles
16x9
audio-description
Detective/Thriller
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Brenda Blethyn
(Actor)
.. DCI Vera Stanhope
David Leon
(Actor)
.. DS Joe Ashworth
Paul Ritter
(Actor)
.. Billy Cartwright
Jon Morrison
(Actor)
.. DC Kenny Lockhart
Liam Cunningham
(Actor)
.. Sam Harper
Jill Halfpenny
(Actor)
.. Maggie Warnock
Christine Bottomley
(Actor)
.. Lisa Strachan
Ralph Ineson
(Actor)
.. Ross Strachan
Clare Calbraith
(Actor)
.. DC Rebecca Shepherd
Sophie Stuckey
(Actor)
.. Eva Harper
Paul Clayton
(Actor)
.. Hotel manager
Michael Cronin
(Actor)
.. Grandad
Riley Jones
(Actor)
.. DC Mark Edwards
James Anthony Pearson
(Actor)
.. Reece McMurray
Jeany Spark
(Actor)
.. Agnes Lennox
Emily Taaffe
(Actor)
.. Janna Jeffries
Poppy Tomlinson
(Actor)
.. Denice Strachan
Alan Westaway
(Actor)
.. John Warnock
Marston Bloom
(Writer)
Margaret Mitchell
(Producer)
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
(Director)
Elaine Collins
(Executive producer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Brenda Blethyn
(Actor)
.. DCI Vera Stanhope
Born:
February 20, 1946
in
Kent
Best Known For:
Secrets & Lies.
Early-life:
Born Brenda Anne Bottle on February 20, 1946, in Ramsgate, Kent. She's the youngest of nine children of a parlour maid and a chauffeur. Money was tight when she was growing up. After excelling at maths at school, she worked as a secretary and bookkeeper in a bank. But she was always obsessed with films and acting and, at the age of 27, after divorcing her first husband, she gave up her day job and used her savings to fund a drama course at Guildford. She didn't tell her parents, and thought she would go back to her old career if things didn't work out.
Career:
Blethyn gained early experience with two small theatre groups before joining the National Theatre in 1975. Her TV debut was in a 1979 episode of Tales of the Unexpected, and a year later she had a lead role in Mike Leigh's small-screen project Gloria. In 1990 she made her first film, The Witches, following that up with A River Runs Through It. Despite roles in Outside Edge and The Buddha of Suburbia, she didn't become a household name until her Oscar-nominated role in Leigh's Secrets & Lies. Since then she's starred in Girls' Night, Saving Grace, Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, London River, and gained another Oscar nomination for Little Voice. She returned to the small screen in 2011 playing the title role in ITV's detective series Vera.
Quote:
"I don't have ambition. My expectations are low."
Trivia:
Blethyn was awarded an OBE for services to drama in the 2003 New Year Honours List.
David Leon
(Actor)
.. DS Joe Ashworth
Best Known For:
Vera.
Early-life:
David Jeremy Leon was born in 1980 in Newcastle upon Tyne to Ann and Anthony. As a teenager, Leon was on the books of Blackburn Rovers, but they released him when he was 19. He turned to acting and successfully auditioned for the National Youth Theatre. He dropped out of drama school to shoot the film Alexander (2004) with Oliver Stone in Morocco. In 2006, he had a main role in the film These Foolish Things (2006).
Career:
Leon went on to star in the miniseries The Wild West, RocknRolla (2008) and Walking with the Enemy (2013). Between 2011 and 2014, he starred alongside Brenda Blethyn in ITV drama Vera, playing DS Joe Ashworth.
Quote:
"You can't get away with enjoying acting in a working-class environment."
Trivia:
Leon's short film Orthodox was accepted into several international film festivals. He completed a feature length version of Orthodox in 2015.
Paul Ritter
(Actor)
.. Billy Cartwright
Jon Morrison
(Actor)
.. DC Kenny Lockhart
Liam Cunningham
(Actor)
.. Sam Harper
Born:
June 02, 1961
in
Dublin
Best Known For:
Being a famous face you can never quite place.
Early-life:
The Dublin native was born in 1961. He was raised in the Northwall, a working class area of Dublin with three sisters and a brother. He was raised in a Roman Catholic household. Cunningham dropped out of high school at 15 to pursue a career as an Electrician. In the 1980s he moved to Zimbabwe for three years where he maintained electrical equipment at a safari park and trained native electricians before returning home and deciding to give acting a try at a local drama school.
Career:
Cunningham's debut film role came in Into the West. His on-screen acting continued with minor roles in War of the Buttons, A Little Princess, Cracker-Best Boys and First Knight. Cunningham's breakout role came in Jude, playing Phillotson. He continued with small character roles in Police 2020, Falling for a Dancer, the superb BBC drama Shooting the Past, When the Sky Falls and Revelation. Cunningham came to international prominence with his role as Captain Ryan in the critically acclaimed independent horror film, Dog Soldiers. Since then, Cunningham has starred in numerous high budget British and American films including The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Hunger, Clash of the Titans and Centurion.
Quote:
"The only thing I was interested in was motor sport and movies and good drama. I couldn't afford to be buying racing cars or bikes, so I thought I'd have a go at the acting."
Trivia:
He auditioned to play The Eighth Doctor on 'Doctor Who'
Jill Halfpenny
(Actor)
.. Maggie Warnock
Born:
July 15, 1975
in
Gateshead
Best Known For:
Playing Kate in EastEnders.
Early-life:
Born July 15, 1975, in Gateshead. She doesn't come from a theatrical background - her dad was a builder and her mum a classroom assistant - and says she has no idea where her love of acting came from. But she's been doing it from an early age; she attended classes at First Act Theatre in Gosforth and began appearing in Byker Grove, alongside Ant and Dec, at the age of 13.
Career:
After quitting Byker Grove in 1992, Halfpenny took a break from TV for five years, eventually returning with a role in The Bill. Small parts in Birds of a Feather, Heartbeat and Peak Practice followed before she began playing Rebecca in Coronation Street in 1999. A year later, the character left Weatherfield having broken up Martin Platt's marriage to Gail. In 2002 she began a three-year stint as Kate, who married Phil Mitchell, in EastEnders. Since then Halfpenny has popped up in Inspector George Gently, Waterloo Road, Wild at Heart and Mount Pleasant. She was also Strictly Come Dancing champion in 2004 and has appeared in several acclaimed stage productions, including Calendar Girls and Legally Blonde.
Quote:
"Actors are always frustrated by the lack of versatility of the casting people who see you for roles. They do pigeonhole you."
Trivia:
Her neice, Chelsea, is also an actress and had a three-year stint in Emmerdale.
Christine Bottomley
(Actor)
.. Lisa Strachan
Ralph Ineson
(Actor)
.. Ross Strachan
Born:
December 15, 1969
in
Leeds
Best Known For:
Playing Chris Finch in the sitcom The Office.
Early-life:
Ralph Michael Ineson was born in Leeds on December 15, 1969. He took Theatre Studies at Lancaster University and spent time as a teacher at York Sixth Form College.
Career:
Probably best known for his recurring role as Chris Finch in the sitcom The Office, Ineson has also starred in Playing the Field, Between the Sheets, Coronation Street, Suburban Shootout and Waterloo Road. More recently, he has starred in the miniseries Titanic, Game of Thrones, Case Sensitive, Prey and Peaky Blinders. A prolific character actor, he has more than 100 TV and film acting credits to his name.
Quote:
On his role in The Office: "Finch was such a tiny role - not much more than a week's work in the end. But he did amazing things for my career."
Trivia:
Ineson supports Leeds United.
Clare Calbraith
(Actor)
.. DC Rebecca Shepherd
Sophie Stuckey
(Actor)
.. Eva Harper
Paul Clayton
(Actor)
.. Hotel manager
Michael Cronin
(Actor)
.. Grandad
Riley Jones
(Actor)
.. DC Mark Edwards
James Anthony Pearson
(Actor)
.. Reece McMurray
Jeany Spark
(Actor)
.. Agnes Lennox
Emily Taaffe
(Actor)
.. Janna Jeffries
Poppy Tomlinson
(Actor)
.. Denice Strachan
Alan Westaway
(Actor)
.. John Warnock
Marston Bloom
(Writer)
Margaret Mitchell
(Producer)
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
(Director)
Elaine Collins
(Executive producer)
