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‘Hidden Depths’, the first episode of latest ITV crime drama Vera begins with a mother discovering the body of her son, Luke, in the bath, surrounded by wild flowers floating on the water. Luke had recently seen his best friend drown, and the arrangement of his body implies a link to his friend’s death. DCI Vera Stanhope and her sidekick DS Joe Ashworth are called in to investigate, but they soon find themselves on the trail of a serial killer when the body of trainee teacher Lily Marsh is discovered. She was also found covered in flowers, but the apparent link between the two deaths is confused by the fact that Luke and Lily never met.
Based on a book series by Ann Cleeves, the latest TV detective to hit our screens is in many ways very typical of the genre, a heavy drinker with many personal demons, whose obsession with work has left room for little life outside the job. Said detective is Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, an older woman – a fact that’s sadly unusual enough within TV crime dramas to warrant note. She's played by the marvellous Brenda Blethyn, clearly enjoying herself in a particularly unglamorous role.
In ‘Hidden Depths’, the supporting cast are uniformly excellent. Paul Higgins, Murray Head, Patrick Toomey and Neil Armstrong are all sufficiently shifty as a group of old friends hiding secrets from each other, and all make credible suspects for the murderer. But the real star turn came from the ever-reliable and magnetic Gina McKee as grieving mother Julie – her shifts between sadness and anger were all too believable, and she brought real depth to a relatively small role.
As is so often the case in these things, however, real the real glue that held it all together was the central performance. Brenda Blethyn shows a real lack of vanity as Vera, who appears to walk around in whatever clothes fell out of the wardrobe first with no thought for how they’ll actually look. Her inherent likability and charm brought real warmth to a role that could have been clichéd, and her relationship with David Leon as her sidekick Joe was funny and believable. Thankfully, the age difference between them allowed for a welcome break from all that will-they-won’t-they nonsense that is often shoehorned in to such dramas.
Vera wasn’t without its flaws, however. Certain elements – such as Lily’s obsession with Samuel Parr or Gary’s shifty behaviour on the night of Luke’s murder – weren’t fully developed. And even I was able to see that the one member of the group that didn’t seem to have a strong motive would end up being the killer, and I’m terrible at guessing these things. Still, the thread of loneliness that ran through Vera’s life made an intriguing parallel with the killer’s motives, and the main plot was tied up nicely enough to satisfy.
Ultimately, Vera isn’t the kind of programme that is going to set the world alight, or inherently change this genre. But it made for an enjoyable and engaging two hours of entertainment, and Brenda Blethyn’s central performance was worth the price of admission alone.
See the next episode of Vera this Sunday at 8pm on ITV1.
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