Vera Episode Guide

Episode Guide

Vera: Season 2 (2012)

• Season 2 Episode 4: A Certain Samaritan

  The investigation into the murder of 29-year-old Niall is made difficult by those closest to him, who seem intent on obscuring the facts, and it is not until the body of a drug dealer washes up on a beach that the dreadful truth about the victim's past begins to emerge. While coping with revelations of her own, Vera sifts through evidence of the grief, love and addiction that characterised Niall's life as she tries to find out why someone wanted him dead. With Judy Parfitt (Call the Midwife) and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey)

• Season 2 Episode 3: Sandancers

  The detective investigates a suspicious death in an army barracks, aided by Joe and an enthusiastic member of the military police. Although the demise of commanding officer Dev initially looks like suicide, a case for murder is quickly established and the team's first task is to find a motive. Sensing a connection to Ollie, a soldier killed in Afghanistan, Vera interviews the victim's loyal comrades and Ollie's grieving family, discovering a traumatic event that nobody wants to talk about. John Duttine (Heartbeat) guest stars alongside Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Jon Morrison and Paul Ritter

• Season 2 Episode 2: Silent Voices

  The detective investigates the murder of social worker Jenny Lister, but figuring out the motive behind the killing of an apparently popular woman proves difficult. However, an infamous past case involving the death of a child appears to hold the key. In her pursuit of the truth, Vera uncovers the failings of an understaffed care system and discovers the secret at the heart of Jenny's death - which the killer will stop at nothing to protect. Drama based on the book by Ann Cleeves, starring Brenda Blethyn and David Leon

• Season 2 Episode 1: The Ghost Position

  Brenda Blethyn returns as DCI Vera Stanhope in four stand-alone episodes of the crime drama. The detective's former colleague, Sergeant Stuart Macken, is left badly burned when his house is petrol-bombed, while his teenage daughter fights for her life in intensive care. As Vera tries to discover why anyone would attempt to kill Stuart, her investigation leads to unpleasant revelations about his personal life, and she has to face long-buried memories of her own. With Steven Hartley (The Bill) and Julie Graham (William and Mary)

Vera: Season 1 (2011)

• Season 1 Episode 4: Little Lazarus

  A woman is murdered in a hedgerow but her son survives the attack, only to fall beneath the ice of a frozen pond as he makes his escape. DCI Vera Stanhope wades in and drags him out, and against all the odds he pulls through. As the investigation into the mother's killing unfolds, Vera finds a kindred spirit in the boy and comes to realise the key to solving the case lies deep in his memory. Detective drama, guest starring Kerry Fox and Kieran O'Brien alongside Brenda Blethyn

• Season 1 Episode 3: The Crow Trap

  A murder at a remote cottage in Northumberland takes DCI Vera Stanhope back to a place full of childhood memories and reminds her of an unsolved case from earlier in her career. Delving into the local politics surrounding a controversial proposal to dig a quarry, she and her team find motives in the unlikeliest of places - until they realise that the truth could be hidden within the land itself. Detective drama, adapted from Ann Cleeves' novel The Crow Trap, guest starring Daniela Nardini and John Lynch alongside Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Wunmi Mosaku and Paul Ritter

• Season 1 Episode 2: Telling Tales

  It was only after Jeanie Long's suicide hit the headlines that evidence came to light exonerating her for the murder of 15-year-old Abigail Mantel 11 years earlier. She had always insisted she was innocent, but nobody including her own family believed her. Now, DCI Vera Stanhope sets out to retrospectively solve the mystery of the case, exposing the secrets and lies of a small community that continues to be rocked by the crime. Detective drama, adapted from Ann Cleeves' novel Telling Tales, guest starring Hugo Speer alongside Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Wunmi Mosaku and Paul Ritter

• Season 1 Episode 1: Hidden Depths

  Brenda Blethyn stars in four murder mysteries as DCI Vera Stanhope, who tracks down killers with the help of long-suffering sidekick DS Joe Ashworth (David Leon). In the first film, adapted from Ann Cleeves' novel Hidden Depths, two people are murdered in the same manner - their bodies placed in water and surrounded by flowers. Vera, Joe and the team must work quickly to find the culprit, uncovering complex and dysfunctional relationships among a group of bird-watching friends who protect one another. Also starring Gina McKee, Wunmi Mosaku, Paul Ritter and Neil Armstrong