Crime drama Vera returns to ITV this spring for a fourth series, starring Brenda Blethyn as D.C.I. Vera Stanhope and David Leon as her sidekick, Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth.

 

Episode 1: ‘On Harbour Street’

Sunday 27 April 2014, 8pm

D.C.I. Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) investigates the mysterious death of pensioner Margaret Kraszewski (Annabel Leventon) found stabbed on a busy Newcastle train at the height of rush hour. With his daughter a key witness in the investigation, D.S. Joe Ashworth (David Leon) has a personal stake in finding Margaret’s killer.

The trail leads them to a run down seaside B&B, where Margaret lived with Kate Darrow (Eva Birthistle) and her teenage children, Ryan (William Rush) and Chloe (Oliver Jack). Kate can’t believe anyone would want to hurt the mild mannered pensioner but Vera believes Margaret knew her killer.

Enquiries lead them to Dee Sinton (Tilly Vosburgh), an alcoholic and old friend recently thrown out of the shelter where Margaret volunteered. When Dee is found dead, Vera knows the key to this new killing will be found in Margaret’s past.

Pub landlord Valerie Furlow (Lynn Farleigh) remembers Dee and Margaret living in the same house and suggests her Polish ex-­‐husband was violent. But he hasn’t been seen in thirty years. Local fisherman Malcolm Kenrich (Paul Copley) denies a close friendship with Margaret, but why has he been left responsible for her will?

With the help of her colleagues, D.C. Rebecca Shepherd (Clare Calbraith) and D.C. Kenny Lockhart (Jon Morrison), Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this quiet Northumberland town, led by clues that keep revolving around one street. But why are the residents of Harbour Street so reluctant to talk?

 

Episode 2: ‘Protected’

Sunday 4 May 2014, 8pm

D.C.I. Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) and D.S. Joe Ashworth (David Leon) examine the suspicious murder of David Kenworthy found dead on the beach at Whitley Bay.

Local arcade owner, Larry Crowe (Dave Hill) has a direct link to the family. His son Paddy died in a botched robbery at the Kenworthy home forty years ago. A witness saw him arguing with David on the night of the killing and a search of his property uncovers a bloodied baseball bat. But Larry has a watertight alibi and it’s clear he wasn’t the only person David met that night.

Convinced the answer lies within the family, Vera begins to dig into the Kenworthy past. Much to the frustration of David’s father, it’s not long before Vera discovers the long shadow Alan Kenworthy (John Woodvine) casts over his children’s lives. Daughter Lorna (Teresa Banham) has been estranged from the family for many years and elder son Thomas (Michael Hodgson) is missing, his car keys found abandoned on the coastal path.

A second death leaves Vera faced with mounting pressure to crack the case. Why was David Kenworthy drawn to Whitley Bay seafront on the evening of his father’s retirement? What is the corruption underpinning the family fortune?

Supported by her team Vera must use all her tenacity and instinct to expose the deep rift at the heart of this fractured family and ultimately solve two murder mysteries.

 

Episode 3: ‘The Deer Hunters’

Sunday 11 May 2014, 8pm

Teenagers Sassi (Charlotte Hope) and Louis Barnes (Aiden Nord) discover Shane Thurgood, dead from a single gunshot wound on the moors of the Northumberland countryside. An abandoned truck is found burnt out a mile away, containing the remains of a deer. D.S. Joe Ashworth (David Leon) is convinced this is a poacher’s war gone wrong but for D.C.I. Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn), the truth is never that straightforward.

Delving into Shane’s life, Vera unearths a sad childhood in the country and a troubled existence in the city, scraping by as a failing novelist. After the recent death of his grandfather, Shane returned to sell his inheritance to wealthy landowner Will Peyton (Richard Dillane) and his wife Clara (Lisa Kay), but inexplicably pulled out at the last minute. Could his death be linked to a dispute over land? And why did he decide to stay in a place with so many painful memories?

The burnt truck is traced to Linus Campion (William Ash), the teenager’s father and a known poacher with a history of violence. He denies any knowledge of Shane Thurgood and points the finger at his former father-­‐in-­‐law, Allen Barnes (Clive Russell), head gamekeeper at the local Peyton Estate and protector of the deer who roam it’s land. Barnes knew Thurgood as a boy and boasts of giving him his first ‘kill, but his daughters Clara and Ness (Kellie Bright) seem less eager to admit a connection.

Assisted by D.C. Rebecca Shepherd (Clare Calbraith) and D.C. Kenny Lockhart (Jon Morrison), Vera delves into Shane’s chequered history with the Barnes and Peyton family. She must draw on all her trademark guile and intuition to unearth the truth behind Shane’s sudden departure fifteen years ago and understand what really drew him back to the land where he ultimately met his end.

 

Episode 4: ‘Death of a Family Man’

Sunday 18 May 2014, 8pm

D.C.I. Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) investigates the mysterious death of businessman John Shearwood, found floating in the waters under the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Supposedly on a golf trip to Ireland, wife Stella (Maibritt Saerens) and brother Luke (Colin Tierney) are baffled to discover John has been working as an informant for Revenue and Customs. But why spy on your own firm?

Chief Investigator Owen Preece (Robert Glenister) reveals John’s business manager Mark Donovan (Tim Dantay) has been running a booze scam through their haulage firm. John agreed to offer information in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Was his cover blown? Owen doesn’t think so. And Mark has an alibi…unlike John’s wife, caught on camera near his city flat the night of his death. Stella continues to insist their marriage was a good one ‐ so why was John Shearwood no longer living in the family home? And who is she hiding from the police?

With the help of D.C. Rebecca Shepherd (Clare Calbraith) and D.C. Kenny Lockhart (Jon Morrison), Vera is led to Luke’s farmhouse in the remote countryside, where she finds John’s teenage son, Billy (Billy Howle). A recovering drug addict, Billy was sent to live with his uncle in a bid to get clean. Indulged by his mother and resentful of his father, Billy is clearly a troubled soul. But would the family go as far as to collude in John’s murder?

D.S. Joe Ashworth (David Leon) and Vera must work hard to peel back the hidden layers beneath John’s veneer of respectability, discovering the seeds of his downfall were sewn in one tragic incident years before.

 

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