Nothing became Brenda Blethyn’s glorious stint as Northumbrian detective Vera Stanhope so much as the manner of her departure. After 14 series, 56 episodes and goodness knows how many hastily grabbed chip butties and glugs of whisky from cracked mugs, she finally hung up her floppy hat for good in classically abrupt style. She turned down a promotion, left a note for her DI, Joe Ashworth (David Leon), and walked out of the station for the last time. It was a perfect moment.
The final film, The Dark Wives (ITV1), wasn’t vintage Vera, however. We’ve seen DCI Stanhope investigate this sort of story before: a tale of a dodgy children’s home and young people caught in the selfish machinations of the adult world. Still,