This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield noted: “You did say at the end of last series that you thought, ‘I’m done’.”
“Yeah, I did. But it’s pretty full on for me and I’m in every scene and I’m away from home and my husband and I’d like to see him,” she explained.
Holly Willoughby added: “And also physically demanding yes? Because you don’t shy away from doing your own stunts do you?”
“So, I have to get myself pretty fit-ish before starting because it’s pretty full on, yeah,” Brenda replied.
She added that when she doesn’t do her own stunts, there is a man with a “huge ginger beard” who steps in for her.
The 71-year-old will return as DCI Vera Stanhope on Sunday night with a new case to solve and the first episode sees her travel to the Farne Islands.
“A body washed up on an island off the coast of Northumberland so Vera has to go on a boat and investigate,” she told the presenters.
“It’s inhabited by thousands of puffins. It was like the blitz. Someone had to keep coming over with a wet flannel.”
Phillip noted that the success of Vera has led to tourism in the north east of England rising by 25 per cent and asked if Brenda had been spotted by fans.
The actress laughed as she recalled filming a fairground scene when an excitable fan threw themselves at her.
“There was a very long tracking shot and we rehearsed for hours, dodging the customers and losing the culprit,” she explained. “Then this lady comes out of the ladies and comes running over.
“She was like, ‘Ooh Vera, I love you Vera,’ and flung her arms around my neck. What could you do? We just had to laugh and start all over again.”
This Morning airs on weekdays on ITV at 10.30am.
Vera returns on Sunday on ITV at 8pm.