With Vera returning to ITV, we look at filming locations used in each series of the long-running ITV Sunday night crime drama

Sign up for free to get the latest North East news and updates delivered straight to your inbox Compostable Poop Bags

After growing impatient for another slice of Vera action, fans of the much loved ITV drama will want to get comfy on the sofa on Sunday, January 15, as Brenda Blethyn's iconic alias finally gets back on the case.

After series 11 aired its first two episodes in summer 2021, before being pulled from schedules, Vera was back on screen at the start of last year with two more episodes, before 'going missing' again, as it was replaced by The Good Karma Hospital and Trigger Point, despite there being two parts remaining.

Those two stories - Vital Signs and Where The Wind Blows, will be the first two to air on Vera's return, each lasting two hours; before the action then moves to series 12, which will bring with it a replacement for Paul Kaye as his character, pathologist Malcolm leaves the show.

READ MORE: Vera's Brenda Blethyn confirms co-star will leave ITV drama during new series

Whenever the North East-set series, based upon the Vera Stanhope novels by local author Ann Cleeves, appears in the TV schedules it always guarantees two things: firstly, that viewers can expect another wealth of top-notch storytelling featuring the crime-cracking sleuth and, secondly, the North East can expect another flood of visitors, wanting to see for themselves the location of the action and this tourist boost to the economy has become known as the 'Vera effect'.

A Vera Tour even launched to take fans around the drama's standout locations.

Over the past year, the Vera cast and crew have been spotted on location at a variety of different places all over the region. Almost as it was confirmed that production had started on series 12, eagle eyed fans spotted filming taking place at Amble at outside of Morpeth larder.

Filming also took place in Darlington in spring 2022, with the Town Hall used as backdrop and another local resident and in Hartlepool, at the railway station and Ward Jackson Park.

Back on Tyneside, a local resident also took a few photos as they spotted what they thought was a 'very intense' scene being filmed at a Wallsend cafe.

The second episode of series 12 is called For the Grace of God and sees the action switch to Newcastle, as a decorated soldier finds himself sleeping rough on the streets of the city centre.

In the run up to Christmas, Vera star Kenny Doughty announced that the cast were reuniting for 'something special', which Brenda has since confirmed was filming for The Rising Tide. The cast and crew were spotted filming by the river in Durham and also in Corbridge.

And Brenda has since revealed that scenes were also shot on Holy Island, with popular pub The Ship Inn changing its name to play a key role in the plot.

Heaping praise on her stunning surroundings and the region as a whole, Brenda said: "“I do love the North East. Everyone is so friendly. I will certainly continue to visit the area once Vera has finally hung up her hat. I’d recommend anyone to go. It’s just lovely."

She added: "There is such a variety of locations in the area. From places like Corbridge in the Tyne Valley to the Northumberland coastline and many other varied locations. I also like working in the vibrant city of Newcastle which was the main venue for Sally Abbot’s “For The Grace of God”.

One of the early episodes of series 11, which aired last year involved a death during a robbery at a Blyth container port and a kidnap plot, with a twist which leads to a bit of a shocker in store for Vera.

And its star herself appeared to confirm a couple of filming sites used, when she shared a tweet this week about Tyger Tyger episode's use of "striking locations" including the Northumberland villages of Stamfordham and Matfen. The thrilling feature length story concluded with a frantic chase around South Shields' famous Ocean Beach theme park.

She has also been filming in Elvaston Park Road, Hexham; Allendale village; Port of Sunderland and Marlborough Park in Washington and last summer Blethyn was also pictured enjoying an ice cream during a break in filming in Corbridge.

It was a different matter weather-wise by August which saw Blethyn and Doughty filming in some less than summery conditions on Tynemouth Beach, when huge umbrellas helped protect them from the elements in between takes.

On the last day of that month, the River Tyne at North Shields was all go with a number of boats seen on the water indicating a possible search.

Vera's familiar Land Rover Defender was positioned next to a police cordon and officers wearing forensic suits.

There were snatched pictures too of a mannequin presumably being used to mark the filming position for a body on the beach, apparently washed up not far from Tynemouth Priory.

Looking back to part one - last year's start of series 11 - local viewers spotted a familiar landmark, restaurant and a cafe.

Filming for that had been first noticed in Tynemouth in September 2020 where Blethyn - masked up between scenes - was seen, together with Vera's familiar Land Rover, in Beach Road and Broadway. In the opening episode, called Witness, the story started with the finding of a body at the base of Collingwood Monument.

At the time Blethyn calls it "a very impressive location", adding that the victim was also shown on board the Shields Ferry before his death.

She said: "Sadly, Vera doesn’t get to go on the ferry but I have been on it myself as a passenger.” Holy Island causeway also featured and she said: "I love it when they are able to include that as part of the story."

Just days after filming in Tynemouth, Blethyn and co-star Doughty had moved on to shoot scenes near some flats in Gateshead then next in South Shields.

By early October, Amble, near The Fish Shack on Harbour Road, was the star of the show - near The Fish Shack on Harbour Road - and a night shoot took place in Wallsend, around Tynedale Avenue and High Farm, with even that late - and rather drizzly - occasion drawing spectators.

Other locations were Citrone Cafe in Front Street, Chester-le-Street where Blethyn and Doughty were snapped walking in and out of the venue and Arlo restaurant in Jesmond which was the chosen setting - with a name-change - for a scene shot there in November.

Switching from town centres to a rural area, there was first a return to South Shields before heading back to Vera's old Northumberland stamping ground for one of the last shoots of that year, which saw the detective at work about 10 miles west of Alnwick, in Thrunton Wood in December.

By last spring 2021 the cast and crew were back again, spending days around Whitley Bay and Seaton Sluice, including at the lighthouse and in the seaside's Duke Street where during a scene Doughty had a brief kick-around with a ball.

Casting minds back to locations of some of the long-running series' memorable scenes, filming on series 10 got under way in spring 2018: April 29 to be precise because, yes, we spotted cast and crew at work again.

One of the first sightings of Vera was at a gym in Gateshead - or rather in the snooker hall above Low Fell Life Gym - where Blethyn was inside filming while location vans took up space in its car park.

Then came the visit by Vera to Tanfield School in Stanley - which featured in episode one of series 10, along with Ridley Park and the Tan Hill Inn at Swaledale in North Yorkshire, which is the highest pub in Britain.

Filming almost went unnoticed when it moved on to Gosforth, where Vera's 4x4 was spotted by The Chronicle in Moor Crescent outside a house being used in a new storyline; while work under way around the busy Clayton Street in Newcastle was a bit more obvious to passers-by.

Filming of the first episode of series 10 had finished by May 31 then by July they were halfway through the whole series and other locations since then included Port of Tyne international passenger terminal in North Shields which, eagle-eyed viewers might recall, featured in a previous episode of Vera in 2017.

This time Blethyn and co-star Doughty were joined by hordes of extras for the August shoot at the ferry terminal.

Across the Tyne, the Herd Groyne in South Shields was given a role in filming too.

Fans have become adept at spotting signs of cast and crew at work, such as evidence of the unit base, at sites such as Sage Gateshead, and location markers.

And Sunderland Greyhound Stadium was a familiar sight in the final episode of series 10.

Airing on ITV in January 2019, this series saw cast and crew hard at work across the region, in locations ranging from Alnmouth and Amble in Northumberland - including Braid, Northside, the harbour and quayside - to Jesmond and the Grainger Market in Newcastle.

The star was seen filming for that in the summer 2018 at the Turknaz restaurant in Whitley Bay in July then the focus of the action switched to the city centre with the cameras set up outside St Nicholas Cathedral, Amen Corner and the top of The Side.

However, filming was later delayed for a time due to illness before resuming later in year, with scenes on Whitley Bay beach being completed in October, meaning the team had just a quick turnaround before the series aired from January.

In January 2018, the eighth series began with an entirely new location for the drama.

The first episode was set on the Farne Islands and saw Vera take the sea air as she travelled over there by boat from the mainland. And the actress told how the experience was a new one for her too, and she came in for quite a soaking.

She told The Chronicle she got to see puffins and seals but was drenched by a wave during a choppy crossing, adding: “I’ve got good sea legs!”

The landscapes used have been increasingly varied, ranging from the sweeping splendour of Dunstanburgh Castle to the industrial backdrop of the former Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend.

The previous series also saw her in Peterlee in County Durham and in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, as well as Seaton Delaval, Blyth and Seaton Sluice, where one fan at the time posted a photograph of himself with Brenda Blethyn on Twitter, referring to the actress as a “proper lady”.

Over the first years of filming, Blethyn came to really know Northumberland, where the bulk of the action is set, and it's this on-screen portrayal of that beautiful countryside which first sent its visitor numbers rocketing.

The “Vera effect” - credited with the sharp rise of tourists following the airing of each series - has also led to local residents proving keen to reacquaint themselves with their home turf.

As the eponymous detective strayed further from her rural turf as the series advanced, cases drew her to Newcastle city centre for the first time.

With huge swathes of Northumberland already aired on-screen during the drama's lengthy run, filming expanded over the years across the region, with more spots around Durham and Newcastle have been playing a role.

In October 2015, filming brought the sleuth to the High Level Bridge while the previous month she was on Whitley Bay beach.

She's also visited Collingwood Street's Diamond Strip and the Crown Posada bar. Dramatic scenes were also set in Teesside.

And 2016’s locations included the quadrangle of Northumbria University where a mocked-up sign read “University of Northumberland sports complex”, which caused some momentary confusion for students before they caught sight of the crew and cameras.

Following Vera's footsteps across the North East also takes us to the Northumberland coast, including Craster, Seahouses and Rumbling Kern.

So, more than 10 years on from its debut, wor Vera still shows no signs of age or of letting up pace and, as we await the series 11 conclusion, loyal viewers clearly will be sticking with Vera every new step of the way.

*Lorraine Kelly returns to host her ITV show after operation

*Ruth Langsford breaks news of Eamonn's nasty fall and family tragedy

*James Jordan defends 'thinner' comment about wife Ola's weight after backlash

Pva Laundry Bag For Hospital *Giovanni Pernice recruits Strictly co-star for his own tour