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,
Vera Maretskaya life, and was later diagnosed with brain cancer, but continued her acting career on Moscow Radio. At that time she created popular radio shows based on her adaptations of "Woman Without Love" and "The Art of Living", both by writer André Maurois. In 1976 Maretskaya was designated the Hero of Socialist Labour. She was awarded the Stalin Prize four times (1942, 1946, 1948, 1951) and was made the People's Artist of the USSR (1949). Maretskaya died on 17 August 1978, aged 72, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Vera Maretskaya Vera Petrovna Maretskaya (Russian: Вера Петровна