Loading...
A sharp detective with a messy life, DCI Vera Stanhope patrols her “patch” of northeast England, pursuing the truth in cases of murder, kidnapping, and blackmail. Vera is obsessive about her work and faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.
2019
DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the murder of a trainee forensic psychologist found dead on a Northumberland landfill site.
Vera must get to the bottom of why a teenage boy is found murdered far away from his home in a coastal town.
A beauty empire is shaken to the ground when one of three sisters is found dead in the River Tyne. DCI Vera Stanthorpe investigates.
DCI Stanhope must open up a familiar cold case to find the connection with a present-day murder.
2014
Investigating a mysterious death, DCI Vera Stanhope finds herself in a quiet coastal town with clues that keep revolving around one street.
Vera unearths a 30-year-old mystery when the son of a prominent local family is found brutally murdered on the sands of a seaside resort.
When a suspected poacher is found dead from a gunshot wound, Vera must unearth the real truth behind his return to the Northumberland moors.
DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the mysterious death of a businessman found floating in the water under the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
2012
Vera's reunion with her first-ever sergeant, Stuart Macken, occurs under tragic circumstances when his house is petrol-bombed. Stuart is badly burned by the attack and his 18-year-old daughter Stella is left fighting for her life in intensive care. Vera is shocked to see that Stuart is a shadow of the man she knew 20 years before and, when her investigation uncovers unpleasant revelations about his personal life, she is faced with some long-buried memories of her own.
Vera investigates the case of a murdered social worked named Jenny Lister, who was universally considered to have been principled and popular. However, in an overworked and understaffed social work system, a notorious case involving the death of a child seems to hold the key to solving the killing. As Vera pursues the truth, she discovers the real secret at the heart of Jenny's death - and the killer who will stop at nothing to keep it hidden
DCI Vera Stanhope and DS Joe Ashworth investigate a suspicious death in an army barracks. Although the scene has been made to look like a suicide, Vera quickly establishes that Staff Sgt 'Dev' Deverson was murdered. Sensing a connection to a soldier named Ollie who was killed in Afghanistan, Vera interviews Dev's loyal comrades and Ollie's grieving family, exposing a deeply concealed trauma at the heart of the crime.
DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the murder of 29-year-old Niall Coulter. With those closest to Niall intent upon obscuring the truth, it is not until the body of a drug dealer is found washed up on a Northumberland beach that the dreadful truth begins to emerge about Niall's past. While coping with revelations from her own past, Vera sifts through evidence of the grief, love and addiction that characterised Niall's life and deduces that his murderer acted through selfless and unrequited love.
2024
Vera is brought to market when a lovable rogue trader is found dead in a lane following a suspected hit-and-run, and a familiar face is back on the scene.
DCI Vera Stanhope is on track to uncover an intriguing yet puzzling case when the body of a sickly young girl is discovered in a railway siding. Found in the middle of nowhere she could be anyone but the investigation soon turns up twists and turns that makes Vera question who this girl actually was. A vulnerable young person with a serious health condition, has her weakened state allowed someone to take advantage of her? And how does the family dynamic work when she’s not truly part of the family? A tale of intrigue, betrayal and blurred lines, Vera’s investigation questions the meaning of family, care and accountability. And with eroding trust, does care come at a cost?
DCI Vera Stanhope investigates when the body of the co-owner of a chip shop is found in his own freezer. A seemingly successful entrepreneur and dedicated family man, Vera uncovers secrets, lies and some unforgivable behaviour as she tries to unwrap the case. Once the investigation begins, it soon becomes apparent that our enigmatic entrepreneur has left behind debts, broken promises, ruined lives and seriously interfered in family business that was not his own. Who is responsible for this unsavoury chip shop assault and battery?
2021
DCI Vera Stanhope must unravel the mystery when well-respected local builder and family man Jim Tullman is found beaten to death on the steps of the Collingwood Monument the day before he was due to testify in court as the key witness in a violent assault case.
DCI Vera Stanhope is called to the scene when the body of addiction support worker Angela Konan is found hidden among the bleak woodlands of Northumberland National Park. Vera and her team must peel back the layers of the introverted victim 's life to uncover her closely guarded secrets and surprising depths. as It appears an increasingly erratic Angela clashed with two clients in the week before she died.
When security foreman Gary Mallon is fatally wounded during a robbery at a Blyth container port the evidence points to an audacious heist that went awry. Vera begins to suspect an inside job. But the investigation takes an unexpected turn when Gary’s ex-wife contacts police with the news that their 13-year-old son is missing. Gary Mallon was acting under duress - the victim of a tiger kidnapping. His son was being held as collateral - but where is he now? In order to rescue the missing boy, Vera first needs to work out who was behind the robbery. Further complications ensue when she finds herself forced to collaborate with an NCA Officer who is working on a covert surveillance operation with links to organised crime. As Vera closes in on the kidnappers a misstep in the investigation leads to tragic repercussions, and she finds herself taken off the case.
Primary school teacher Lizzy Swann is found dead at the bottom of a cliffside coastal walkway, but what appears at first to be a terrible accident, quickly becomes a murder investigation as Vera discovers evidence the body has been tampered with. Interviews with those who knew Lizzy paint a troubling picture of a guarded and paranoid woman who seemed to be burning bridges with friends and family alike in the days leading up to her death.
Vera is called out to the grim scene of a body found in the back of a burned out car. When identified as a popular local GP, we enter a world of intrigue, betrayal, and lust.
The body of a young woman has been washed up on the banks of the River Tyne. Although she was a popular colleague, loyal friend, and loving mother and wife, we uncover a web of intrigue, betrayal, and lost promises.
Brenda Blethyn
DCI Vera Stanhope
Jon Morrison
DC Kenny Lockhart
Riley Jones
DC Mark Edwards
Sarah Kameela Impey
Dr Paula Bennett
Rhiannon Clements
DC Stephanie 'Steph' Duncan
2011
After two young people are killed in the same way - placed in water and surrounded by flowers - DCI Vera Stanhope knows that she must catch the murderer before they strike again. Aided by her team, especially her trusted right-hand man Sgt Joe Ashworth, she unpicks the complex and dysfunctional relationships amongst a group of bird-watching friends. As the friends' loyalty turns to betrayal, Vera finds that a small act of teenage blackmail and an illicit affair may have driven someone to kill.
After Jeanie Long commits suicide, evidence comes to light exonerating her for the murder of teenager Abigail Mantel 11 years earlier. DCI Vera Stanhope and her team set out to retrospectively solve the killing, delving into the secrets and lies of a small community which still feels the repercussions of Abigail's death. Then the case takes an violent and unexpected turn - can Vera use her skill and instinct to find the truth and lay ghosts to rest?
When a woman is murdered in the remote Northumbrian countryside, DCI Vera Stanhope is led back to a place from her past. As she and her team investigate, they uncover shadowy liaisons, conflicting sympathies and hidden injustices.
Last in the series of the detective drama based on the novels by Ann Cleeves. DI Vera Stanhope rescues a young boy from a freezing pond after he escapes from a violent attack which left his mother dead. As Vera and her team investigate what happened to the child, they unravel a web of deadly secrets and discover a murderous sequence of events set in motion by power, money and a mother's love. Although she is usually awkward and uninterested around children, Vera finds a kindred spirit in the boy, and begins to realise that the key to the investigation may lie hidden in his memory.
2013
DCI Vera Stanhope and her team must race against time to track down the killer of a respected surgeon and save his abducted teenage daughters.
DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the brutal murder of a young physiotherapist gunned down at a luxury country retreat.
DCI Vera Stanhope delves into the tangled past of extreme sports fanatic, Gideon Frane, when he plunges from a Northumberland cliff top in a ball of flames.
Vera and her team investigate the fatal stabbing of an ex-Met police officer outside a busy Newcastle nightclub.
2015
Vera takes a look into a suspicious fire that rips through a holiday park on the Northumberland coast. Three cabins are destroyed and the body of a woman is discovered inside inside one of them.
Following the discovery of the remains of a teenage girl half-buried in a Northumberland wood, Vera and her team end up looking into a thirty-year old mystery.
Vera investigates the death of an unidentified man dredged up from a slurry pit on a remote Northumberland farm.
A dock worker plunges from the roof of a multistory car park whilst picking up daughter from her school prom and everything points to foul play.
2016
The body of a woman is found on the bleak Northumberland moors.
The detective investigates the discovery of a young man's body in an area notorious for illicit teenage gatherings, the corpse wrapped in plastic sheeting and having received a blow to the head.
DCI Stanhope and her team, including new recruit DC Hicham Cherradi, travel to a remote country house when the woman looking after it is killed.
A fisherman's body is found tangled up in a North Sea trawler's net. Vera and her team investigate with the help of the local harbourmaster
2018
DCI Vera Stanhope is called to a chilling murder scene when the charred remains of a body are discovered in an abattoir incinerator. With limited forensic evidence, she is disturbed to identify the body as DC Harry Fenton, a respected police officer from the Northumberland & City Fraud Unit.
When a seemingly beloved resident of a coastal community is fatally driven off the road, DCI Vera digs up the victim's past in the hope of unmasking the killer.
Quiet life in suburbia takes a dark turn when a woman is discovered murdered, found lying dead in her back garden. When DCI Vera Stanhope discovers that the neighbours aren’t all that they seem, buried secrets must be unearthed in order to catch the killer.
Vera is confronted with a tragic mystery when the dead body of teenager Ethan Dewley is found floating in a reservoir in a remote rural town, DCI Vera Stanhope must scrutinise the fractured relationships of the surrounding community to find his killer.
2020
DCI Vera Stanhope must unravel the circumstances of self-styled entrepreneur Freddie Gill's death when his body is found by bailiffs, attempting to repossess his house.
DCI Vera Stanhope must unravel a tangled web of deceit between two wildly different families when the body of a teenage boy is discovered floating near a Northumberland salmon farm.
Cleaner Luke Sumner's body is discovered close to his flat in Newcastle, but pathology concludes that the killing blow could have occurred several hours before he succumbed to his injuries, prompting Vera to piece together the victim's final hours in order to investigate his murder.
Wealthy betting shop tycoon Alun Wilmott is shot and killed during a home invasion, leaving his wife and daughter traumatized - with large amounts of cash missing from his personal safe, it is assumed he is the unlucky victim of a burglary.
2023
Vera is called to a lighthouse when the body of a local council worker is found, but it becomes clear that his life wasn't plain sailing.
Vera attends to the body of an ex-soldier who ended up on the streets and finds that events in his past and the present made for a deadly future.
Joel Kingston is a copper’s copper from a respected and notable police family but when he is found dead, floating in a park lake, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) finds herself investigating both sides of the thin blue line in order to find his killer. A complex family dynamic, tensions at work, and brushes with the underworld, paint a dark and complex picture. Joel was there to serve and protect but did his stubborn commitment to justice at any price lead to his death? Or, was he killed to stop him revealing a secret that would destroy someone’s life? Vera steps on toes and ruffles a few police feathers as she searches for answers as to why PC Joel Kingston is no longer on the beat.
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.
DCI Vera Stanhope finds herself drawn to the enchanting tidal island of Lindisfarne, where a group of lifelong friends reunites every five years to commemorate their enduring bond. As the tide rises, long-concealed secrets begin to surface, threatening to engulf everyone involved. Vera, aided by her trusted and resourceful team, including Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy, navigates treacherous waters, facing danger and deception at every turn. Together, they must unravel the twisted web of lies before another tragedy unfolds.
2024
As she considers a life-changing decision, Vera finds herself investigating two cases when an ex-prisoner's body is discovered on the banks of the River Tyne and she has to find out if the former inmate has been served cold justice or if there's more to his death.
A student violently killed and dumped at the foot of three mythical monoliths and a missing girl sets Vera on an investigation that triggers memories from her own childhood.
2017
CI Vera Stanhope is drawn into a suspicious death on Ternstone, a remote and inaccessible island off the coast of Northumberland, home only to numerous species of birds and the rangers who observe them. The last thing anyone expected to see was a body, cruelly washed up on the shore.
The body of a young man is discovered face down in a river by Thrunton Woods. But tracing the victim's identity proves difficult for Vera and her team.
Vera is called to Northumberland University when a student plummets to his death from the top of a disused faculty building.
When the body of a missing teenager is discovered buried on the moors, Vera is forced to delve into the life and the secrets of the victim.
