Sleuth is back with a Holy Island murder
Boxing Day is the perfect time to sit back, relax and let the telly do all the work.
Or, in this case, you might want to do some sofa-sleuthing alongside Ann Cleeves’ dogged detective, DCI Vera Stanhope. She takes on her latest murder case in an adaptation of the 10th Vera novel, The Rising Tide. Considering it’s been running since 2011, this is, incredibly, the programme’s first ever festive edition. “I’ve always wanted to have a Vera Christmas special,” says Brenda Blethyn, who plays the titular role.
“This adaptation is set against the backdrop to the run up to Christmas. It was nice to film scenes with all of the festive decorations in the background.
“There’s always a jolly feeling at Christmas with people in good spirits. But sometimes they had to take a tree out of the background because there was too much going on!
“I think The Rising Tide is one of Ann Cleeves’ best books, and that’s saying something because they’re all fabulous. She just gets better and better.
As is often the case when adapting a novel for TV, there are differences between the book and Sally Abbot’s reworking.
The bare bones of the story remain the same, however. Brenda explains: “Vera and her team are gearing up to having a couple of days off over Christmas when a call comes in about a television celebrity who has been found dead on Holy Island in Northumberland of all places, where Vera lives, in what is an unexplained death.
“It turns out the dead man is with a group of friends who first visited Holy Island together in 1977 and have been returning for a reunion every five years since 1982. “Vera is intrigued by them and finally concludes that the death is a case of murder.” It’s a fascinating case but, sadly, it’s the last one Brenda will work on with Kenny Doughty, who’s bowing out of his role as Vera’s sidekick, DS Aiden Healy.
“I was sad when he said he was leaving,” she said. “He’s my mate. We had filmed eight series together. I’ve never laughed so hard as I did with Kenny Doughty.” Brenda will be settling down herself to watch it as it airs. “My husband also likes to watch it with me. He gets annoyed if I tell him anything about it beforehand!”