Vera reveals synopsis for poignant final episode ahead of Brenda Blethyn's farewell

We now know that we'll be getting two episodes, entitled Inside and The Dark Wives, which will "intertwine gripping murder mysteries with the heartfelt narrative of Vera’s personal journey".

According to the synopsis: "In the first episode, DCI Vera Stanhope is called to the banks of the Tyne where the body of a young man has been discovered by some anglers.

"A tangled web of a broken relationship, secret love, grudges, regret, and fraud begins to emerge – has our former inmate been served cold justice, or does his death run deeper?

"The final episode brings Vera back to a familiar place when a body is found at the foot of legendary local stones The Dark Wives – with memories of childhood in the background, Vera must work hard to uncover the mystery of why a bright young student would be violently attacked and left so far from home.

"This poignant episode weaves together past and present and makes for a compelling and emotional farewell."

Read more:

• Erik Menendez star Cooper Koch doesn't want to return for more Monsters: "I'm ready to let go"
• Bad Sisters' killer secret under threat of being uncovered in season 2 trailer

Once again, the series has returned to the North East of England for filming and will reunite the main cast of familiar faces.

Joining Blethyn for her final outing as the titular detective are David Leon as DI Joe Ashworth, Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart and Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards.

Sarah Kameela Impey will also be reprising her role as pathologist Dr Paula Bennett, as well as Rhiannon Clements as DC Steph Duncan.

Due to the very nature of the long-running series and the various crimes and stories that are explored in each episode, Vera's final season will also be home to some brand new guest stars.

Guest stars joining for season 14 include Amanda Root (Persuasion), William Houston (Wednesday), Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street) and Clinton Blake (Skins), to name a few.

The very first season of Vera premiered back in 2011 and has been a fan-favourite series, having been based on the novels by Ann Cleeves.

On the announcement of season 14 being Vera's last, Blethyn said in a statement: "Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end, and I’m sad to be saying cheerio.

"But I am so proud of our achievements over the last 14 years. I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves, who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins, who saw fit to cast me in the role.

"The producers, dream cast and crew have been fabulous, and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared, nor the friendship of the people of the North East and our fans worldwide.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Vera season 14 will arrive soon. Previous episodes are available to watch on ITVX while seasons are also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free BritBox trial here.

You can also purchase instalments from any series on Amazon Prime Video. You can buy the first of Ann Cleeves's Vera novels now.

To find out what else is on, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our dedicated Drama hub. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.