ITV confirms Brenda Blethyn's return for final series of Vera - and it airs soon

ITV has officially added Brenda Blethyn's Vera to its Christmas slate, meaning fans can expect the final season of the much-loved drama to air before the year is out.

Made up of two feature-length episodes, the final stories are titled Inside and The Dark Wives. They will once again weave Vera's personal journey through unravelling murder mysteries.

Filmed in and around the North East, the final season welcomes back David Leon as DI Joe Ashworth, Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart, Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards, Sarah Kameela Impey as pathologist Dr Paula Bennett, and Rhiannon Clements as DC Steph Duncan.

The episodes form part of the Christmas 2024 highlights brochure for the channel, so it's only a matter of weeks before Vera returns to screens.

Here is all we know so far about the two episodes as Brenda Blethyn makes her final appearance as the detective.

The first episode, titled Inside, sees Vera Stanhope called to the banks of the Tyne where anglers have discovered the body of a young man.

A broken relationship, secret love, grudges, regret, and fraud all stand in the way of the truth as to what happened.

The synopsis adds: "Has our former inmate been served cold justice, or does his death run deeper?"

The final episode, titled The Dark Wives, teases Vera's return to "a familiar place" where a body is found at the foot of some legendary local stones.

The synopsis adds: "With memories of childhood in the background, Vera must work hard to uncover the mystery of why a bright young student would be violently attacked and left so far from home.

"This poignant episode weaves together past and present and makes for a compelling and emotional farewell."

Actress Brenda announced in April this year she would be stepping down after 14 seasons, saying it was the right time to hang up Vera's hat.

Announcing her departure, she said: "Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end.

"I'm sad to be saying cheerio. But I am so proud of our achievements over the last 14 years.

"I'm going to miss [the cast and crew], but I won't forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the North East and our fans worldwide.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Vera season 14 will air on ITV later this year