Vera

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Vera

The Darkest Evening

On the night of a massive storm, trying to get home, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) comes across an abandoned car with a baby inside.

With no mobile signal and blocked roads at every turn, Vera is forced to seek refuge somewhere she’d rather not be, Brockburn House, the Stanhope’s ancestral pile. Vera doesn’t exactly receive a warm welcome from her estranged family as there’s a function in full swing and her turning up with a baby isn’t a great look.

Things start to look even worse and take a far sinister turn when a body is found on the track leading to Brockburn House.

Series overview

Award winning actress, Brenda Blethyn dons her iconic mac and hat to play the unorthodox but brilliantly perceptive Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, in six new feature length episodes set against the backdrop of the North East.

DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) returns, leading her diligent team of detectives as they investigate some complex and murderous crimes. Kenny Doughty also returns as Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy, a strong and reliable partner to DCI Stanhope. Completing Vera’s team is Jon Morrison who plays DC Kenny Lockhart, Riley Jones who plays DC Mark Edwards and Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline Williams. Paul Kaye returns to three of the new episodes as Pathologist Dr. Malcolm Donahue whilst Sarah Kameela Impey joins the production from the episode entitled For the Grace of God as Pathologist Dr. Paula Bennett.

The six self-contained crime stories (two episode from series eleven and four episodes from series twelve) have once again been inspired by the best-selling novels and characters created by acclaimed crime writer Ann Cleeves, who received the Diamond Dagger Award at the Crime Writer’s Association in 2017 for a lifetime achievement for sustained excellence.