Vera season 13 sees Brenda Blethyn once again playing super sleuth DCI Vera Stanhope, but this 2024 series of three standalone stories has excited Vera fans around the world as it sees the return of actor and director David Leon as Joe Ashworth. (And great news American fans it drops on BritBox on Wednesday 28 February!).
Brenda Blethyn says: "Stepping back into Vera's shoes for the thirteenth series feels like coming home again. The support from the locals in the North East is truly heart-warming and reuniting with the talented David Leon and the rest of our exceptional team is an absolute delight. Together, we embark on this new chapter with a terrific script crafted by the brilliant Paul Matthew Thompson."
David Leon says: "I’m thrilled to be returning to Vera. It's fantastic to be back in the North East and reunited with Brenda and the crew for the new series. I’m looking forward to exploring the relationship between Joe and Vera as they make up for lost time.”
This latest three-part Vera series follows events after the Vera Christmas special, Vera: The Rising Tide, on Boxing Day. The Vera cases in series 13 again draw inspiration from the best-selling novels and characters created by acclaimed crime writer Ann Cleeves. There are plenty of guests stars in all episodes (see below on who turns up). Meanwhile, Vera season 14 has now been officially confirmed!
Here's everything you need to know about Vera season 13...
Vera season 13 release date
Vera season 13 is a three-part series that starts on ITV1 on Sunday, January 7 2024 at 8pm. Episodes will run Sundays at the same time on January 14 and 21 and will also become available on streaming service ITVX.
Series 1-12 of Vera is currently available on ITVX. Vera: The Rising Tide which is the Christmas special launched on Boxing Day 2023 and then became available on ITVX.
In the US, the series hit BritBox on Wednesday 28 February, 2024!
Vera cast for season 13
Joining Brenda Blethyn and David Leon for three new feature-length episodes of Vera are Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart, Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards, Sarah Kameela Impey as pathologist Dr Paula Bennett, and Rhiannon Clements (Ridley, Hollyoaks) as new and ambitious DC Steph Duncan who joins Vera’s team.
Hollyoaks star Rhiannon Clements on joining Vera as Steph Duncan
Vera fans react to the show's first-ever Christmas special
Vera season 13 plot and episode guide
Here's a brief episode guide to the three stories in Vera season 13...
Episode 1: Fast Love, written by Paul Matthew Thompson
DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) is reeling from the loss of her trusted colleague DS Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty), who’s left for a fresh start in Australia. Yet she’s forced to rally her remaining team when local fruit and veg stallholder Danny Meddon is found killed in a violent hit and run.
Since the victim had fingers in plenty of dodgy pies, as well as a shocking history and reputation as a ladies’ man, Vera must rely on old-fashioned instinct to whittle down the suspects. But she’s momentarily thrown off course by the surprise arrival of her original right-hand man Joe Ashworth (David Leon)!
"It’s a shock for Vera when Joe appears. She’s pleased to see him, but then her nose is put out of joint when she finds out why he’s there!" says Brenda, 77.
As usual there are murky twists and plenty of jokes at DC Kenny Lockhart’s expense. There’s a new face on the team, too – ambitious DC Steph Duncan, played by Hollyoaks’ Rhiannon Clements. Other actors appearing in the first episode include Nimmy March (Agatha Raisin, Midsomer Murders), Amit Shah (Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Happy Valley, The Other One), Stephen Lord (Coronation Street, Safe House), Patrick McNamee (Our Girl, Inspector George Gently), Andrew Dunn (The Syndicate, Doctors), Bryan Dick (Ridley, The Split), Samantha Seager (Coronation Street, This is Vanity), Beruce Khan (War of the Worlds, The Capture) and television newcomers Travis Ross, Evie Hargreaves and Susan Jayne-Robinson.
* This first feature length episode is written by series regular Paul Matthew Thompson (Ridley, Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators) and directed by Claire Winyard (Our Girl, Call the Midwife).
Episode 2: Tender written by Phil Mulryne
DCI Vera Stanhope feathers were ruffled when her original sidekick DI Joe Ashworth made a surprise return as an assessor, brought in to scrutinise whether she was sticking to codes of professional practice. Now he’s moved back to Newcastle permanently but the frosty atmosphere between them hasn’t thawed, despite them teaming up to investigate when a missing girl is found dead by a railway line. As they try to work out the young woman’s identity and what happened, Vera and Joe find themselves at loggerheads! However, Vera’s more irritable with her team than usual, which isn’t helped by the fact she’s suffering from agonising toothache. Keen to crack the case quickly, she becomes so abrasive that Joe finds himself siding with DC Kenny Lockhart and new detective Steph Duncan! Can Joe and Vera pull together and solve the puzzle?
* This week guest star actors are Shaun Dooley (Mr Bates Vs The Post Office) and Julia Sawalha (Absolutely Fabulous).
Episode 3: Salt and Vinegar, written by Phil Mulryne
There’s a gruesome discovery for Vera and her team in the final episode of the current series when the body of a chip shop owner is found dead in his own freezer! Straight away, Vera and DI Joe Ashworth suspect murder. But since the seemingly successful entrepreneur and family man has left behind a series of debts and broken promises, the list of suspects turns out to be long!
"Vera uncovers all sorts of things that were previously unknown about the victim," says former Hollyoaks star Rhiannon Clements, 29, who has joined Vera this series as new team member DC Steph Duncan. "Things unravel and the team has to find out who’s responsible for it all!’
Meanwhile, there’s tension between Steph and Vera when ambitious Steph gets ideas above her station as the case unfolds! "She’s wants to be at the heart of the investigation and she oversteps the mark sometimes, which causes a bit of friction,’" says Rhiannon. "She’s still unaware of the protocol at times. What’s great is that Joe has her back, but he’ll also tell her when she’s gone too far!"
Interview: Brenda Blethyn on Vera season 13
So, how is Vera Stanhope when we meet her again in opening story Fast Love?
Brenda Blethyn says: "She’s on her own at the start of the new series. DS Aiden Healy is no longer around and Vera has to explain to the team what’s happened to him.
Then, out of the blue, her former sidekick Joe Ashworth pitches up during a team briefing!
Brenda says: "It’s a shock for Vera when Joe appears. She’s pleased to see him. But then her nose is really put out of joint when she finds out why he’s there…
How did your screen reunion with actor David Leon, who originally starred in the show from seasons one to four, come about?
Brenda says: "After we filmed the recent Christmas special, The Rising Tide, at the end of 2022, I didn’t want to do any more without Kenny Doughty, who’d decided to leave. But I said, ‘I’ll think about it if David Leon is available to return as Joe Ashworth’, and here I am! I was broken-hearted when David left after series four, and I wouldn’t have continued if he hadn’t agreed to come back. I just didn’t want to start another board game with somebody else when I know I’m not going to do many more."
What was it like filming together again after so long?
Brenda says: "Fabulous. Working together was certainly as good as I remembered, if not better. David’s return helps refresh the series. People were very upset when he left, and delighted when it was announced he was returning for these three new films. It also took away the disappointment of Kenny leaving, because there’s no one better to replace the character of Aiden Healy than Joe Ashworth."
Does Joe Ashworth’s return bring back some memories from the past?
Brenda says: "In the first episode, there are echoes of the very first Vera film [2011’s Hidden Depths], which keen fans may spot, including a scene at the North Shields Fish Quay where Joe scattered Vera’s father Hector’s ashes."
Vera has a new recruit on the team, DC Steph Duncan, played by former Hollyoaks star Rhiannon Clements. How does your character take to her
Brenda says: "Steph brings a new vitality to the team, and another dynamic, which is a bonus. She’s ambitious and wants to prove herself as a valued member of Vera’s team. But, as ever, Vera doesn’t cut her any slack. Joe tells Steph that Vera can be infuriating, which I agree with!"
Can you share any other teasers about the first new episode?
Brenda says: "It involves a number of market stallholders, so we filmed scenes in [the market town of] Hexham, which was a lovely setting. There was one scene where Vera’s sitting opposite a market trader, played by [Coronation Street star] Andrew Dunn, in a local cafe as he’s eating a fry-up. But we couldn’t do too many takes as he would have eaten three plates full! As it was, he did pretty well!"
Viewers are also set to learn more about Vera during this series, aren’t they?
Brenda says: "Yes, we discover a bit more about her past. There’s also a scene where she is out doing the gardening at her cottage wearing a pair of dungarees and Wellington boots, although she’s not exactly green-fingered."
Are Vera fans still as keen to watch the cast filming on location?
Brenda says: "Yes, some children from Corbridge Middle School came to watch us filming on a nearby estate; I love it when kids are enthusiastic about what goes on behind the scenes. Another time, we were filming on the seafront at Redcar [in Yorkshire]. It was a very hot day and an 81-year-old lady watching us fainted. I went over to see if she was OK, and I chatted to her for a few minutes – and, blow me down, when I got home it was on the TV news that night!"
What does the future hold for Vera?
Brenda says: "At the moment, there is nothing planned. But that’s not to say they’re not talking about it. Ann Cleeves is also writing her 11th Vera book, so there’s also that to consider. But a whole series? I think not. But we’ll see…"
Interview: David Leon on returning as Joe Ashworth
Originally playing Joe Ashworth from 2011 to 2014, David Leon is pleased to be returning to Vera for another stint in the 2024 series, especially as it meant an on-screen reunion with the show’s leading lady, Brenda Blethyn.
"People say, 'Never go back", and there is often good reason for that," says David, 43, who previously came back to direct season eight case Black Ice in 2018. "But at the heart of this, there’s great love and affection. I hold Brenda in the highest regard, and I find her very inspiring, both as an actor and as a person, she’s a very special woman."
While details surrounding Joe’s shock comeback are being kept under-wraps, David does reveal that his character has changed since fans last saw him. "When I agreed to return, part of the discussions we had were, “What would it mean for the character?’, he says. "A period of time has gone by; you grow and evolve as a person and the character reflects that. There needed to be a reason why Joe has returned, and also a readdressing of the balance in terms of the relationship dynamic between him and Vera. But it’s been great to be back and, to some extent, tie up some loose ends!"
Vera star David Leon on those tensions between Joe Ashworth and Vera
Behind the scenes and more on Vera season 13
Vera is made by Silverprint Pictures, part of ITV Studios, with executive producers Will Nicholson and Kate Bartlett overseeing the production. Will Nicholson also takes on the role of producer for the new series. Overseeing production on behalf of ITV is Drama Commissioner Huw Kennair-Jones. ITV Studios distributes Vera internationally.
Is there a trailer for Vera season 13?
No trailer for Vera season 13 has been released just yet, so you'll have to tune in to watch the episodes.
Will there be a Vera season 14
Yes Vera season 14 will be filming soon in 2024 for broadcast on ITV and ITVX in 2025. Vera season 14 will just be a two episode series this time.
