Vera fans open-mouthed after unearthing forgotten pop star cameo that ended in disaster

VERA fans have been left stunned after discovering a pop star appeared in the very first episode.

The beloved ITV crime drama has been on air screens now for 13 years and still pulls in impressive viewers.

But die-hard fans have unearthed the very first episode of Vera from 2011 which featured a celebrity cameo.

Seventeen Going Under hitmaker Sam Fender starred in the episode, playing the role of teenager Luke Armstrong.

However, he met a grizzly end when Brenda Blethyn's character discovered his lifeless and naked body in a bath.

During the opening of the episode, titled 'Hidden Depths', the copper had received a call and headed to the North West where she discovered the submerged body.

Over the course of the show a second body was uncovered as Vera raced to find the culprit before more murders were carried out.

For fans of the show, they've been left open-mouthed that Sam starred in the show - including the owner of the house they shot the distressing scene in.

"If anyone dares doubt my Geordie credentials I tell them Sam Fender died in my house in the first episode of Vera, that's a true Geordie overlap on a scale of Eucharistic miracles," said the homeowner.

While a second viewer wrote: “There's only one thing to say about Sam Fender and it's this: it's very funny that he's the first ever dead body in Vera"

"Omg Sam Fender, I loved you in Vera," said a third.

While a fourth commented: “Virgin Media's TV listings insist Sam Fender is in every episode of Vera even though he died in a bath in the first episode in 2011. Ee pet... Kenny gerrontoit.”

Meanwhile, Brenda, 78, recently revealed Vera would be back for a whopping 14th series next year.

Filming is due to begin this Spring.