Vera series 14 release date, cast, filming locations and episode guide

DCI Vera Stanhope is pounding her North East beat for the final time to solve two, intertwined murder mysteries.

The final series of the popular ITV crime drama Vera, based on books by Ann Cleeves, draws to a close this New Year with two feature-length episodes.

Brenda Blethyn will once again don her iconic raincoat and hat as she investigates two separate cases with the help of her trusted team and a few guest stars including Kevin Whately and Chelsea Halfpenny.

Blethyn said she had decided to leave the show in summer 2023, to spend more time with her family, and details of the final series were announced in April this year.

But the actress added: “I feel rather proud of myself. I’m glad that Vera was the success it was. And that other people must have been pleased with it too.

“ITV, for example, for it to go on for so long.”

When is Vera series 14 on TV?

Season 14 of Vera consists of just two, two-hour episodes.

One, entitled, Inside, will be on New Year’s Day, Wednesday 1 January at 8pm on ITV.

The second episode, The Dark Wives, will be broadcast on Thursday 2 January at 8pm on ITV.

Both will also be available to stream on ITVX, along with series one through to 13.

Who is in the Vera cast?

Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn leads the cast as DCI Vera Stanhope in the ITV series.

The renowned film, theatre, and television actress has played the part for fourteen series but decided to quit to spend more time with her family.

She said: “I came to realise I hadn’t had a summer with my husband for 14
years.”

I love my Vera family but I love my other family too.

“And when you consider I was already thinking about packing work in when I was offered the job back in 2010, fourteen series of working on Vera is pretty good going.”

The award-winning actress, 78, has starred in a string of major films including Secrets & Lies, Little Voice, A River Runs Through It, Saving Grace and Atonement.

David Leon

David Leon stars as Vera’s right-hand man DI Joe Ashworth.

He has returned from his time with the Met and Greater Manchester Police but is struggling with grief.

Leon, 44, has appeared in the television series Cutting It and Gold Digger.

And he has worked as a director on both Vera and Man and Boy.

Jon Morrison

Jon Morrison has starred as DC Kenny Lockhart since the series began in 2011.

The Scottish actor has also appeared in a number of other crime series including The Bill, Bergerac and Taggart.

And he featured in the 1997 film Nil by Mouth.

Rhiannon Clements

Rhiannon Clements appears as DC Steph Duncan in Vera, a committed police officer who is a little averse to the administrative side of the role.

Clements, 30, played Summer Ranger in the soap Hollyoaks and Mad Debs in Big Boys.

She also took on the role of Lauren in the British drama series Maryland.

Riley Jones

Riley Jones plays DC Mark Edwards in the series, a reliable detective with an eye for detail.

He previously had a recurring role as Ewan in the BBC soap Eastenders.

And he has appeared in the mini-series Fever: The Little Willie John Story and the film United.

The remaining cast includes:

• Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr. Paula Bennett (Maternal, We Are Lady Parts)
• Shobna Gulati as Chief Superintendent Khalon (Dinnerladies, Coronation Street, Loose Women)
• Cathy Tyson as Kath Oliver (Boiling Point, Criminal Record)
• Bryan Moriaty as Zachary Martin (The Vanishing Triangle)
• Chelsea Halfpenny as Kimberley Martin (Emmerdale, Casualty)
• Kevin Whately as Gary Creelan (Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Inspector Morse, Lewis, Peak Practice)
• Jonathan Iceton as Josh Worsten (Mortal)
• Freya Parks as Stella Marsh (The School for Good and Evil, Jane Eyre)
• Graeme Hawley as Will Marsh (Emmerdale, Coronation Street)

Where is Vera filmed?

Vera is filmed across North East England in Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Will Nicholson, the show’s executive producer, said: “I feel a huge duty that each series should reflect every area of the North East.

“So it’s quite nice to put an episode in Northumberland, an episode in County
Durham and an episode in Teeside and Wearside.

“So that everyone feels like they own the show. So that everyone goes, ‘I feel like a part of it.’ And that’s what we want.

“Because the North East is a huge community and we want people to feel ownership over it.”

Vera’s police headquarters, Northumberland and City Police Station, is set in Newcastle.

Locations used for the show include South and North Shields, Whitley Bay, Bamburgh, Crobridge, Amble, Alnmouth and Gateshead.

Exterior shots of DCI Vera Stanhope’s home use a farmhouse on Lindisfarne (Holy) Island and Hexham doubles as fictional Bentham.

Speaking about the series setting, Blethyn said: “Northumberland and the wider North East is so varied and beautiful.

“It’s not just one thing. It’s the seascapes, the landscapes, the moors, the cities. A lot of them steeped in history.

“And lively.

“It’s not for nothing that Newcastle is called the party town.”