A small village got a huge slice of primetime TV stardom on Thursday night, as it was the centre of plenty of action in the last ever episode of Vera and was renamed for the purposes of the plot of the hit drama’s last ever episode.
There was a lot of activity in Glanton, not far from Alnwick, back in the summer, when, after repeated callouts for locals to sign up as extras, a huge parade scene was filmed in the village; although, at the time no-one, other than the show’s main stars and its crew just just what part that would play in the Vera finale.
Millions tuned into ITV to see Vera come to an end, after 14 years of being the biggest dramas on British TV and, as DCI Stanhope and her team attempted to identify the culprits for two mysterious deaths, Glanton was renamed as Ghyllstead, as local pub The Queen’s Head became The Stanhope Arms. When on location shots emerged online of Vera filming there, some fans speculated the boozer’s name could hold a huge clue as to how the Vera finale would pan out, given it shared its name with Vera.
However, this was quickly passed off as just a ‘coincidence’ by Brenda Blethyn’s famous character, although it was the scene of some unexpected reunions with people from her past. The parade filmed back in Glanton in the summer turned out to be the Witch Hunt – a rather sinister tradition that ended up having a big role in catching one of the killers, as Vera’s life was also played in significant danger.