Vera

We’ve seen DCI Stanhope investigate this sort of story before: a tale of a dodgy children’s home and young people caught in the selfish machinations of the adult world. Still, it allowed for a glimpse into Vera’s compassionate soul and flashback scenes involving her younger self and her dad Hector (Stevie Raine) were superb.

If the formula is contrived it is also highly effective: it not only allows plots as labyrinthine as Fast Love’s to be unravelled, but it gives ample time for subtle portrayals such as Blethyn’s to breathe. Time with Vera, no matter what murky mystery she’s investigating, is time well spent.

It was flat and grey, and relied too much on us to care about DI Joe Ashworth’s (David Leon) private life when all we can think about is the finale.

It has to be said that this was not one of Vera’s most thrilling plots. .... Like Vera herself, this episode was perfectly solid but it feels as though the best may be being saved for her final swansong.

I thought this was one of Vera's simpler plotlines. .... More interesting was the way that Vera and Joe slowly warmed to each other again, despite Vera suspecting he was a "company man" backstabber and he thinking she was a dinosaur who used computers older than him.

As a January pick-me-up, Vera went down easily. But Danny was such an unpleasant piece of work that it was hard to become invested in the hunt for his killer.