Multi-award winning actress Brenda Blethyn returns as DCI Stanhope in critically acclaimed crime drama, Vera. Driven by work and her own personal demons and assisted by her trusted and long suffering colleague, Sergeant Joe Ashworth (David Leon), Vera faces a number of daunting cases. She investigates the ruthless murder of a young physiotherapist who is gunned down at a luxury country retreat (Castles in the Air), faces tragic repercussions when dealing with the abduction of teenage sisters (Poster Child), delves into the past of an extreme sports fanatic when he plunges from a Northumberland cliff top in a ball of flames (Young Gods) and unpicks the tangled love life of an ex-met police officer (Prodigal Son), consequently confronting a secret from her own past. Inspired by the novels wriiten by renowned crime writer Ann Cleeves, and shot with outstanding landscapes and atmospheric production, these gripping stories are enhanced by the captivating performance of Brenda Blethyn as shambolic yet brilliant detective Vera Stanhope. The third series sees the return of Jon Morrision (Hight Times, Nil By Mouth) as DC Kenny Lockhart, Clare Calbraith (Downton Abbey, The Shadow Line) as DC Rebecca Shepherd, Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) as pathologist Billy Cartwright and Sonya Cassidy (Endevour, The Paradise) as Celino Ashworth, wife to Joe and new recruit to the department, Riley Jones (DC Edwards).