Vera ITV 'secret' role to Northumberland pub after Brenda Blethyn visit
While its name was never actually mentioned on screen, with another premises instead stealing the TV spotlight, a popular Northumberland pub played a key part in the last ever episode of Vera, which was watched by over six million viewers earlier this month.
One of the biggest British crime dramas of the last 20 years, Vera made its debut on ITV in 2011, with now established music icon Sam Fender being 'killed off' in pilot episode Hidden Depths, before a full series quickly followed, paving the way for 13 more, as Vera earned itself a loyal fanbase, not just in the UK and worldwide.
After lead actress Brenda Blethyn had made the decision behind the scenes to quit her famous role after 14 years, it was announced by ITV last spring that Vera would, sadly, be coming to an end in 2025, with two new episodes for viewers to look forward to. The first of those aired on New Year's Day, featuring a cameo from Kevin Whately, before finale, The Dark Wives, attracted a large audience on January 2.
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The final series of Vera was filmed all over the North East in summer 2024, with one of the last locations visited by cast and crew being the small Northumberland village of Glanton, which had its name changed to Ghyllstead, as local pub The Queen's Head became The Stanhope Arms.
However, while it was the exterior of The Queen's Head that was seen on numerous occasions during the course of the two hour long Vera finale, as many locals were cast for a huge parade scene; the interior of the pub visited by DCI Stanhope and sidekick Joe Ashworth was actually miles away from Glanton, with the indoor pub scenes actually shot at The Pack Horse Inn in Ellingham.
The scenes inside the pub saw Vera come face to face with two familiar faces from her past, as she and Joe tried to track down a teenage girl who'd gone missing from a children's home, following the death of a journalist student who was planning to film there.