Led by BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actress Brenda Blethyn as the unorthodox but brilliant DCI Vera Stanhope, ITV's top-rating crime drama returns for an eighth series.

Based on the bestselling Inspector Stanhope novels by 2017 CWA Diamond Dagger recipient, Ann Cleeves, Vera and her team are drawn into four more compelling cases; the body of a police officer discovered in an abattoir incinerator, a mysterious car crash, a suburban back-garden murder and the circumstances that led to the death of a teenage boy.

Set around Newcastle and the stunning Northumberland countryside, Vera features complex and intriguing cases, atmospherically-shot landscapes and captivating performances.

Series eight is produced by Letitia Knight and directed by Paul Gay, David Leon, Chris Baugh and Lee Haven-Jones. Phil Hunter returns as Executive Producer for his second series.