Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves' eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement.

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.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. It was also revealed that Holly had found Thomas and rescued him, rather than him being with Nial Heslop’s children like in the ITV drama.

I also like working in the vibrant city of Newcastle which was the main venue for Sally Abbot’s “For The Grace of God”.The sinister confrontation between Vera and Nial went down at night in the snow in December, adding extra intrigue and intensity to the book scenes. 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”. However, this isn’t the last you’ll see of Vera over the coming months and book fans might be delighted to learn that a special Vera episode has been filmed that also directly adapts one of Ann Cleeves’ books. Heavner isn’t exactly mollified when Tempe, aided by retired police detective Skinny Slidell and a host of experts, puts a name to the dead man.