Vera (TV series) audience of 6.53 million over four episodes, whilst the fourth series attracted a slightly smaller audience of 6.42 million over four episodes. In 2018 the ratings increased to between 8 to 9 million viewers. Vera (TV series) Vera is a British crime drama series based on novels of the same name, written by crime writer Ann Cleeves. It was first broadcast on ITV on 1 May 2011, and to date, eight series have aired. The series stars Brenda Blethyn as the principal character, Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Vera is a middle-aged employee of the fictional Northumberland & City Police,
Spencer-Stanhope family Spencer-Stanhope family Spencer-Stanhope is the family name of British landed gentry who for 200 years held Cannon Hall, a country house in South Yorkshire that since the 1950s has been a museum. The hyphenated form of the name is more common in British orthography, but American sources often omit the hyphen and alphabetize by "Stanhope." Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, several family members (by birth and marriage) were active in the art world. They were related through John Spencer Stanhope (born 1787), a classical antiquarian, writer, and explorer, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Coke of