'A tourist board's dream': How Vera left a positive lasting legacy for the North East

After 14 series, the final episode of hit ITV drama Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope, has aired. Credit: ITV

People look at the North East of England 'in a different way' thanks to the hit ITV detective drama series Vera, according to the author of the books the show is based on.

As the final episode hits our screens, thoughts are turning to what the lasting legacy will be for the region in which it is both set and filmed.

Since the first series aired in 2011, the coastlines, countryside and market towns of the North East have been seen not just across the rest of the UK, but also in 180 other countries which the show has been sold to.

Ann Cleeves, the author from Whitley Bay who wrote the series of books about DCI Vera Stanhope, has described the TV adaptations as a "tourist board's dream".

An example of the stunning scenery of the North East on display in a recent episode of Vera. Credit: ITV

She told ITV Tyne Tees: "People come up to me and say, 'It's so great to see posh houses in our region on the telly', because before that it was always The Likely Lads or When the Boat Comes In, it always showed the North East as being a bit grey and miserable.

"It’s showcased the variety that we have here. Beaches all the way up the coast are wonderful. The inland bits are great, they show that bleak beauty of rural Northumberland and then the pretty market towns."

The success of Vera has already led to increased tourism in the places where it is filmed.

Ann Cleeves said: "I know that there are Vera location tours that are booked solid. It's wonderful, people coming in, spending their money and having a good time.

"Off the back of it, we have our own little book festival in Whitley Bay every March, where we fill the Whitley Bay Playhouse and I'm sure part of it is that people want to come to 'Vera-land', they want to come and see what's going on here."

The magnificent coastlines of the North East feature heavily in the hit ITV drama series Vera. Credit: ITV

When asked about the legacy of the series, Ann said: "I think that people look at the North East in a different way. I think that it would be wonderful if the value of the creative industries within the North East was celebrated, because we've got so many writers and artists and technicians and it would be great if we can carry on with that.

"We used to make ships and dig coal, and now we make films that can be exported throughout the world in just the same way so that would be wonderful."

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