It seems you really can't have too much of a good thing. Popular ITV drama Vera is always warmly welcomed back to the TV schedules by fans whenever a new series starts and it always guarantees two things.
Firstly, viewers can expect another wealth of top-notch storytelling featuring the crime cracking sleuth and, secondly, the North East can expect another flood of visitors.
Ever since the series started filming in the region more than a decade ago, it triggered a steady stream of viewers wanting to see for themselves the location of the action.
With some of the most beautiful landscape in Northumberland given a starring role, that stream soon turned into a flood - which has never let up.
And given the longevity of the series, there is no reason to think the interest will dry up any time soon. As if to prove the point, there is now a Vera Tour taking fans around the drama's stand-out locations.
The new, 10th series of Vera has been bringing another batch of mind-puzzling murders we can enjoy from the cosy comfort of our sofas and more of the region has been seen looking great on TV.
Huge swathes of Northumberland have been aired over its lengthy run and over the years filming has expanded across the region and this time a fresh batch of locations - familiar to us, new to viewers countrywide - will have their day on screen, having almost as much a starring role in the popular crime drama as the raincoat-wearing detective which last year saw Blethyn win a best performance award the Royal Television Society awards while the series itself scooped best drama.
So, here we remind ourselves of the locations of some of memorable scenes from the long-running series, based on the Vera Stanhope novels by local author Ann Cleeves.
Over previous years Blethyn has come to really know Northumberland, where the bulk of the action is set, and the on-screen portrayal of beautiful countryside has sent its visitor numbers rocketing.
The “Vera effect” has been credited with the sharp rise of tourists following the airing of each series while local residents are proving keen to reacquaint themselves with their home turf and love to location-spot while watching episodes.
And they have been spoiled for choice.
The exterior of Vera’s home is actually filmed on Holy Island while the interior is a set at the Wallsend studio base - but an exact replica of that on Lindisfarne.
Blethyn said of it: " I think it might be a foot wider, to allow for camera movement.
"Sometimes when I’m on that set I forget I’m not actually in Vera’s house. It’s so brilliantly reproduced. Our art department are second to none."
Over the years the the eponymous detective has strayed further from her rural turf, with cases drawing her to Newcastle city centre.
In October 2015, filming brought the sleuth to the High Level Bridge while the previous month she was on Whitley Bay beach.
Dramatic scenes were also set in Teesside.
And 2016’s locations included the quadrangle of Northumbria University where a mocked-up sign read “University of Northumberland sports complex”, which caused some momentary confusion for students before they caught sight of the crew and cameras.
Fans can follow in the footsteps of the star across the North East, including the Northumberland coast, including Craster, Seahouses and Rumbling Kern.
In January 2018, the eighth series began with an entirely new location for the drama.
The first episode was set on the Farne Islands and saw Vera take the sea air as she travelled over there by boat from the mainland. And the actress told how the experience was a new one for her too, and she came in for quite a soaking.
She told The Chronicle she got to see puffins and seals but was drenched by a wave during a choppy crossing, adding: “I’ve got good sea legs!”
Filming for the 2019 series saw cast and crew hard at work across the region earlier that year, in locations ranging from Alnmouth and Amble - including Braid, Northside, the harbour and quayside - in Northumberland to Jesmond and the Grainger Market in Newcastle.
The focus of the action also switched to the city centre with the cameras set up outside St Nicholas Cathedral, Amen Corner and the top of The Side.
Filming was delayed for a time over the summer, however, due to illness but it later resumed in the year, with scenes on Whitley Bay beach being completed in October, meaning the team had a quick turnaround for the new series.
This year cast and crew were back in action at the start of May, with Blethyn seen filming at a gym in Gateshead and over the course of the summer the team were spotted in areas including Gosforth before Whitley Bay in October last year was one of the last sites chosen for the 1919 shoot.
Location-spotters can watch the North East's last current role in the action when the 10th series of Vera wraps up on ITV1 at 8pm this Sunday, February 2.
