Vera is a British crime drama television series based on the Vera Stanhope novels by Ann Cleeves. It ran on ITV for 14 years from 1 May 2011 until 3 January 2025 and starred Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope.
Premise
Vera is a nearly retired detective chief inspector of the fictional Northumberland & City Police, who is obsessive about her work. She plods along in a dishevelled state but has a calculating mind and despite her irascible personality, she cares deeply about her work and colleagues. She often proves her superior skills by picking up small errors in her team members' thought processes. Vera forms a close relationship with sergeants Joe Ashworth and Aiden Healy.
Production
The series is filmed in Newcastle upon Tyne and throughout Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire in North East England. Locations include Hartlepool, Gateshead, South Shields, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Amble, Warkworth, Alnmouth, Bamburgh, and Holy Island. The farmhouse used for the exterior shots of Vera's home is located on the Snook, part of Holy Island at or .
"Hidden Depths", "Telling Tales" and "The Crow Trap" from the first series, as well as "Silent Voices" from the second series, are based on novels of the same names by Ann Cleeves. The episode "Sand Dancers" from the second series was due to be broadcast on 13 May 2012. However, the episode was pulled from the schedule as its storyline was about a soldier's death in Afghanistan and it coincided with news of two servicemen dying there.
In August 2012, Vera was renewed for a third series of four episodes, with both Brenda Blethyn and David Leon confirmed as returning for the new series. On 5 June 2014, ITV announced that a fifth series had been commissioned but that David Leon would not be returning. Kenny Doughty was unveiled as his successor. Letitia Knight was announced as executive producer for this series. Cush Jumbo returned to the main cast following her two-episode guest stint in series two, while Lisa Hammond joined the cast as newcomer Helen Milton.
In March 2015, ITV announced that the show had been renewed for a sixth series, with filming commencing in June. The third episode was announced to be an adaptation of the novel The Moth Catcher, which was set to be published in September 2015. Noof McEwan joined the cast following the departure of Cush Jumbo. On 14 January 2020, while attending the TCA Press Tour, Blethyn confirmed that Vera was renewed for an eleventh series. Production for series 11 began in April 2020 and new episodes began airing in 2021. In March 2023, ITV announced that the show had been renewed for a thirteenth series, with filming commencing in mid-May. It aired in January 2024 and featured the return of Joe Ashworth, as well as former Hollyoaks actress Rhiannon Clements as DC Stephanie Duncan.
The fourteenth and final series comprised the final two episodes and aired in January 2025.
Cast
Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope David Leon as DS (later DI) Joe Ashworth Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart Wunmi Mosaku as DC Holly Lawson Paul Ritter as Dr Billy Cartwright Cush Jumbo as DC Bethany Whelan Sonya Cassidy as Celine Ashworth Riley Jones as PC (later DC) Mark Edwards Clare Calbraith as DC Rebecca Shepherd Kingsley Ben-Adir as Dr. Marcus Sumner Kenny Doughty as DS Aiden Healy Lisa Hammond as IO Helen Milton Noof McEwan as DC Hicham Cherradi Christopher Colquhoun as Dr. Anthony Carmichael Steve Evets as PC George Wooten Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline Williams Paul Kaye as Dr Malcolm Donahue Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr Paula Bennett Rhiannon Clements as DC Stephanie Duncan Shobna Gulati as Chief Superintendent Khalon Marley Emma Sage as Young Vera Stanhope Stevie Raine as Hector Stanhope
Timeline Cast Members Series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope colspan="14" David Leon as DS Joe Ashworth colspan="4" colspan="8" colspan="2" Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart colspan="14" Wunmi Mosaku as DC Holly Lawson colspan="2" colspan="12" Paul Ritter as Dr Billy Cartwright colspan="3" colspan="11" Sonya Cassidy as Celine Ashworth colspan="3" colspan="10" Cush Jumbo as DC Bethany Whelan colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="8" Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards colspan="2" colspan="12" Clare Calbraith as DC Rebecca Shepherd colspan="2" colspan="10" Kingsley Ben-Adir as Dr Marcus Sumner colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="6" Cast Members Series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Kenny Doughty as DS Aiden Healy colspan="4" colspan="8" colspan="2" Lisa Hammond as IO Helen Milton colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="7" Noof McEwan as DC Hicham Cherradi colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="7" Christopher Colquhoun as Dr. Anthony Carmichael colspan="6" colspan="7" Steve Evets as PC George Wooten colspan="6" colspan="3" colspan="5" Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline Williams colspan="7" colspan="5" colspan="2" Paul Kaye as Dr. Malcolm Donahue colspan="8" colspan="4" colspan="2" Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr. Paula Bennett colspan="11" colspan="3" Rhiannon Clements as DC Steph Duncan colspan="12" colspan="2" Shobna Gulati as Chief Superintendent Khalon colspan="13"
Episodes
Home releases
Series Format Release date Region 1 Region 2(UK) Region 2(Germany) Region 4/B 1DVD(individualseries sets) 30 August 2011 23 May 2011 4 April 2014 9 August 2012 2 6 November 2012 21 May 2012 24 July 2015 3 December 2014 3 28 January 2014 16 September 2013 4 September 2015 3 December 2014 4 28 October 2014 19 May 2014 19 February 2016 3 December 2014 5 22 September 2015 11 May 2015 3 February 2017 9 September 2015 6 28 June 2016 7 March 2016 2 February 2018 13 April 2016 7 24 October 2017 17 April 2017 7 May 2018 13 September 2017 8 4 December 2018 26 February 2018 27 September 2019 8 May 2019 9 7 January 2020 25 February 2019 14 February 2020 5 August 2020 10 5 January 2021 2 March 2020 4 November 2020 11 27 February 2023 31 August 2022 12 20 March 2023 17 April 2024 13 26 February 2024 11 September 2024 14 10 February 2025 1–2DVD(multipleseries sets) 13 August 2012 1–3 16 September 2013 29 January 2021 1–4 25 August 2014 1–5 5 October 2015 9 September 2015 1–6 14 September 2016 4–6 30 September 2022 1–7 23 October 2018 13 September 2017 1–8 19 March 2018 8 May 2019 1–9 25 February 2019 5 August 2020 7–9 6 December 2023 1–10 9 March 2020 4 November 2020 1–11 27 February 2023 31 August 2022 1–13 26 February 2024 1–14 10 February 2025 1–6 Blu-ray 29 April 2025
Notes
References
External links