BBC Breakfast: Ann Cleeves talks about Vera tv adaptation
Crime show fans are only just discovering a “90s version of Vera” that could fill the hole left by the ITV show.
Vera is set to end after an incredible 14 series, with Brenda Blethyn bowing out as the titular detective. She 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.”
She added: “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."
Though a gap will be left in fans’ lives when the series comes to a close, some are only just discovering a 90s programme that could help plug that hole – Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
Aired from 1995 until 1998, the cosy detective drama features Patricia Routledge as Wainthropp, who decides to become a private investigator when she turns 60. With assistance from her husband Robert and a teenager named Geoffrey, Hetty is the perfect woman to solve cosy crimes over 27 episodes.
Keeping Up Appearances star Patricia was fuming when the BBC dropped the detective series in 1998, fuming: “We were betrayed by the BBC. We finished series four of Hetty Wainthropp, we were told there was going to be a series five.
“But no word ever came. How rude. The BBC is run by 10-year-old children,” she fumed.
Younger fans who missed the show in its heyday are only just discovering it’s the perfect programme to settle down with as we head into 2025. Taking to X, one tweeted: “Why did no-one tell me that Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is basically a 90s version of #Vera? Started it last week and am loving it so far.”
Someone else said: “Hetty Wainthropp Investigates was proper good Sunday evening fayre wasn’t it? Like Pie In the Sky. Northern brass bands and 90s fashions.”
