Vera is a Britishcrime drama television series based on the Vera Stanhope series of novels by Ann Cleeves. First broadcast on ITV on 1 May 2011, it stars Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope.
In January 2024, it was confirmed that the show had been renewed for a fourteenth series[1], which was later announced to be the show's last.[2]
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.[3]
"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.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]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.[9]
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.[10] Noof McEwan joined the cast following the departure of Cush Jumbo.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
The fourteenth and final series of Vera will comprise the last two episodes and will air in January 2025.
^The eleventh series was split into three individual sets in the UK: Episodes 1 and 2 were released on 27 September 2021,[56] Episodes 3 and 4 were released on 31 January 2022,[57] while Episodes 5 and 6 were released on 27 February 2023,[58] on the same day the complete eleven series was made available.
^A re-release set of Series 1–6 was released on 27 September 2023,[72] which was followed by a first-ever release of a Series 7–9 set in December 2023.
