The BEST episodes of Vera
Every episode of Vera ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Vera!
DCI Vera Stanhope is obsessive about her work. With her caustic wit and guile, the unorthodox but brilliant detective investigates chilling crimes set in Northumberland with her trusted colleagues.
#1 - Dark Road
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/31/2016
Vera investigates the murder of a 56-year-old grandmother discovered by a young girl on the wild and desolate Northumberland moors.
#2 - Death of a Family Man
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/18/2014
Vera delves into the tangled life of a businessman found floating in the water under the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
#3 - Salt & Vinegar
Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/21/2024
Vera uncovers secrets, lies and unforgivable behaviour as she unwraps a case where the body of the co-owner of a chip shop has been found in a freezer.
#4 - Blood and Bone
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2018
Vera is called to a chilling murder scene when the charred remains of a body are discovered in an abattoir incinerator.
#5 - The Seagull
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/3/2019
Vera must find the connection between a skeleton discovered underneath the site of a notorious burnt-out nightclub and a present day murder.
#6 - The Darkest Evening
Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/19/2023
On the night of a massive storm, trying to get home, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) comes across an abandoned car with a baby inside. With no mobile signal and blocked roads at every turn, Vera is forced to seek refuge somewhere she’d rather not be, Brockburn House, the Stanhope’s ancestral pile. Vera doesn’t exactly receive a warm welcome from her estranged family as there’s a function in full swing and her turning up with a baby isn’t a great look. Things start to look even worse and take a far sinister turn when a body is found on the track leading to Brockburn House.
#7 - Broken Promise
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/2/2017
Vera is called to Northumberland University when a student plummets to his death from the top of a disused faculty building.
#8 - Prodigal Son
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/15/2013
Vera's investigation into the murder of an ex-Met officer turns out to be far more complicated than initially imagined.
#9 - Dirty
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/2020
DCI Vera Stanhope must piece together Luke Sumner's final hours in order to investigate his murder.
#10 - Blue
Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/12/2023
Joel Kingston is a copper’s copper from a respected and notable police family but when he is found dead, floating in a park lake, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) finds herself investigating both sides of the thin blue line in order to find his killer. A complex family dynamic, tensions at work, and brushes with the underworld, paint a dark and complex picture. Joel was there to serve and protect but did his stubborn commitment to justice at any price lead to his death? Or, was he killed to stop him revealing a secret that would destroy someone’s life? Vera steps on toes and ruffles a few police feathers as she searches for answers as to why PC Joel Kingston is no longer on the beat.
#11 - Tuesday's Child
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/7/2016
Vera investigates the death of a local lad whose body is found wrapped in plastic sheets at a rural teenage hang out.
#13 - Young Gods
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/8/2013
Vera investigates the death of an extreme sports fanatic, who was seen by a group of campers jumping into the lake while on fire from head to toe.
#14 - Fast Love
Season 13 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2024
Vera is brought to market when a lovable rogue trader is found dead in a lane following a suspected hit-and-run, and a familiar face is back on the scene.
#15 - Blind Spot
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/13/2019
Vera investigates the murder of a trainee forensic psychologist found dead on a Northumberland landfill site.
#16 - For the Grace of God
Season 12 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/5/2023
Lance Corporal Conn Burns was a dedicated, diligent and decorated soldier with a loving young family but all of that fell apart when he left the army. Adapting to civilian life was not easy and after a series of bad life choices, Conn found himself desolate, down and out on the streets of Newcastle. Attempting to get his life back on track, Conn had recently been making moves that would see him repay old debts, rebuild relationships and get him off the streets but a dark secret from his past, and betrayal in the present, left his future looking uncertain, and deadly.
#17 - Old Wounds
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/12/2015
When the remains of a teenage girl are found half-buried in a wood, Vera and her team find themselves investigating a 30-year-old mystery.
#18 - Castles in the Air
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/25/2013
A young physiotherapist is brutally murdered and Vera leads the investigation into her death.
#19 - The Blanket Mire
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/9/2017
Surveyors out on the Northumberland moors make a shocking discovery: the body of a young woman buried beneath the soil.
#20 - Protected
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/4/2014
Vera unearths a 30-year-old mystery after a brutal murder on the sands of a seaside resort.
#21 - Darkwater
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/28/2018
Vera is confronted with a tragic mystery when the dead body of teenager Ethan Dewley is found floating in a reservoir.
#22 - The Escape Turn
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/2/2020
Vera investigates the case of a wealthy betting shop tycoon who was murdered during a home invasion in front of his wife and daughter.
#23 - Shadows in the Sky
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/26/2015
Vera uncovers a life of secrets and lies when a well-loved family man plummets to his death from a multi-story car park.
#24 - Muddy Waters
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/19/2015
Vera investigates the death of an unidentified man dredged up from a slurry pit on a remote Northumberland farm.
#25 - The Moth Catcher
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/14/2016
Vera investigates the murder of 22-year-old Alex Gartside, victim of a hit and run in a remote Northumberland Valley.