DCI Vera Stanhope and her iconic raincoat will be returning to our screens soon for a thirteenth season. Before then, however, we’ll get to enjoy Vera’s first-ever Christmas special, an additional feature-length episode that will not only provide a bit of gloom during the festive holiday season but force audiences to say goodbye to two beloved characters.
Here’s everything you need to know to prepare yourselves for Vera’s upcoming return.
What do we know about Vera’s 2023 Christmas special?
For the first time ever, Vera will be returning in December for a Christmas-themed special episode. “The Rising Tide” is set to air on December 26 on ITV1 in the U.K. and will be available on ITVX simultaneously. In the U.S., Vera is available on BritBox—reportedly, the Christmas episode will be available there on December 20.
Vera is based on the best-selling novels by author Ann Cleeves (Cleeves also wrote the Shetland novels). “The Rising Tide” will be adapting the tenth novel in the series and will see DCI Stanhope travel to an enchanting yet remote tidal island called Lindisfarne. A group of lifelong friends go to the island every five years to celebrate their friendship, but their reunion quickly takes a dark turn when one of their party turns up dead. The death becomes suspicious when Vera and her team discover that the deceased had recently been fired after being accused of misconduct. Vera turns to the past to uncover the truth, unearthing the secrets of the group’s first reunion on the island.
But the Christmas episode won’t just feature another intricate and twisting murder mystery. The series will also be parting ways with two beloved characters. Though the entirety of season 12’s main cast is joining the Christmas special, including Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope, Kenny Doughty as DS Aiden Healy, Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart, Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline ‘Jac’ Williams, Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards, and Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr. Paula Bennett, two of those cast members will be leaving the show after this episode, too.
Ibinabo Jack will be leaving the show due to theatre commitments. She’s been a part of the show since 2018, and her character has become a trusted member of Vera’s team. Even more surprising, however, is Kenny Doughty’s departure. Doughty has portrayed DS Healy, DCI Stanhope’s right-hand man, for eight seasons of the show. In an interview with ITV for the upcoming Christmas episode, Doughty explained that he decided to leave before they started filming season 12, saying, “I just wanted to leave while I was still happy with everything … To step away and seek new acting challenges.”
Jack and Doughty will certainly both be missed, though Vera has one surprise in store that may just soften the blow.
What do we know about Vera season 13?
Vera’s 13th season will consist of three feature-length episodes, each introducing a brand-new case. It has not yet been confirmed which—if any—of Ann Cleeves’ books the new episodes will be based on. Additionally, ITV has yet to reveal a premiere date. However, given previous seasons of the show have been released sometime in January, we would expect Vera season 13 to drop at the beginning of 2024. This would make sense, as filming began in the summer of 2023.
Though plot details have yet to be announced, the final episode of season 12 took a very personal turn. Vera, who usually wants very little to do with her family, was forced to seek shelter from a massive storm in Brockburn House with her estranged family. To make matters more complicated, Vera had a baby with her that she found abandoned in a car, and a body turned up on the driveway of her family’s home. We’d expect the fallout from these events to be touched upon in season 13.
What has been revealed, however, is that a familiar face will be returning to Vera. Replacing DS Aiden Healy is DS Joe Ashworth, returning to DCI Stanhope’s team nearly a decade after he last appeared on the show. DS Joe Ashworth, as portrayed by David Leon, left at the end of season 4, though his departure was never properly addressed. Instead of a farewell episode, season 5 of Vera opened with his already having left after securing a promotion off-screen and a new DS having taken his place. Leon’s return to Vera is certainly a welcome one, and hopefully, the show will let us know what he’s been up to in the years he’s been away.
(featured image: ITV)
