A special event named 'Viva Vera' is to take place in September to celebrate 30 years of Ann Cleeves working with her publisher Pan Macmillan.
Hosted by Channel 4's Steph McGovern, Ann will take to the stage at Whitley Bay Playhouse alongside Brenda Blethyn and Kenny Doughty, who play Vera Stanhope and Aiden Healy in the much-loved ITV detective drama. The announcement on Twitter has already seen a lot of excitement and could be a boost to tourism in the region, with fans contacting Ann from all over the world expressing their desire to be there.
Ann said: "It's going to be great fun, I hope lots of locals come. I've already seen that people are planning trips from across the country and even the world - there's a Swedish woman who has got her alarm set for 10am on Friday to get tickets.
