Brenda Blethyn returns to Vera for more crime drama

The North East based detective drama is back for another run on ITV.

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

The latest episodes are a continuation of series eleven with the first two episodes entitled Witness and Recovery broadcast on ITV in August and September of 2021 and successfully drew an average audience of seven million viewers.

In this weekend’s edition, entitled, Tyger Tyger, security foreman Gary Mallon is fatally wounded during a robbery at a Blyth container port and 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 the 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.

Vera, ITV/STV/UTV, Sunday at 8 pm