Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'' is a British television drama. The following is a list of all episodes that have been broadcast across all television series, since the series began on 21 February 1996. The first seven series featured

Amanda Burton Amanda Burton (born 10 October 1956) is a Northern Irish actress. Her notable credits include Heather Haversham in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1986), Beth Glover in the ITV drama series ''Peak Practice'' (1993–1995), Sa ...

in the lead role. Following Burton's departure (in series 8, episode 2),

Emilia Fox Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film ''The Pianist (2002 film), The Pianist'' (2002). Her other m ...

joined the show (in series 8, episode 5) as new

forensic pathologist Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...

Nikki Alexander and as of 2025 is still in the series. In the first episode of series 6,

William Gaminara William Gaminara (born 1956) is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, probably best known for playing pathologist Professor Leo Dalton on the television series ''Silent Witness'', from 2002 to 2013. His plays include ''According to Hoyle' ...

and

Tom Ward Tom Ward (born 11 January 1971) is a Welsh-born British film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Harry Cunningham in the long-running BBC crime drama series, ''Silent Witness'' from 2002 to 2012. Early life Ward was b ...

both joined the series. After series 15, Ward left the show to pursue other projects. He was replaced by

David Caves David Caves (born 7 August 1978) is a Northern Irish actor who is best known for his role as Jack Hodgson in the BBC One, BBC drama series ''Silent Witness''. After graduating from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 2005, Caves h ...

and

Liz Carr Elizabeth Anne Carr (born 21 April 1972) is an English actress, comedian, broadcaster and international disability rights activist. She is known for portraying the role of Clarissa Mullery in the BBC crime drama ''Silent Witness'' (2013–2020), ...

who both joined the show in series 16. Gaminara left the show at the end of series 16 and was replaced by

Richard Lintern Richard Charles Lintern (born 8 October 1962) is an English stage, voice and screen actor. Early life Lintern was born in Taunton, Somerset. He studied English Literature at Durham University. He subsequently won a scholarship to the Royal Aca ...

from series 17. Both Lintern and Carr left the show at the end of series 23. The series has been released on BBC DVD since July 2006, usually with two series being released together in one box set. This practice has stopped and series 17 onwards have been released as single DVDs (as was the case for series 1 and 2). ''Silent Witness'' stories usually consist of two episodes to one story, with each part lasting 60 minutes, while series 25 is one story in six 1-hour episodes.

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (1996)

Series 2 (1997)

Series 3 (1998)

Series 4 (1999)

Series 5 (2000–01)

Series 6 (2002)

Series 6 was confirmed in April 2001. This series saw the introduction of two new main characters, Professor Leo Dalton and Dr Harry Cunningham, portrayed by

and

, respectively.

Series 7 (2003)

Series 8 (2004)

Series 8 was confirmed alongside series 7. This series saw the departure of

as Dr Sam Ryan and the introduction of new character Dr Nikki Alexander, portrayed by

Series 9 (2005)

Series 10 (2006)

Series 11 (2007)

Series 12 (2008)

Series 13 (2010)

Series 14 (2011)

Series 15 (2012)

Series 15 was confirmed in April 2011. It is the last to star

, as Dr Harry Cunningham
Note that this list is in order of first broadcast by the BBC. The BBC postponed the first broadcast of episode '' And Then I Fell in Love'' for "editorial reasons" shortly before its intended broadcast and brought forward ''

Domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

'' in its place, eventually showing ''And Then I Fell in Love'' four months later (after it had been shown in Australia).
The originally intended order of episodes now used by other broadcasters and by IMDb is:
'' Death Has No Dominion'', ''And Then I Fell in Love'', ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'', ''Domestic'', '' Redhill'', ''

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

''. Episodes originally in swapped places.

Series 16 (2013)

It was confirmed during the shooting of series 15 that ''Silent Witness'' would return for a 16th series in January 2013. It is the final series to star

, as Professor Leo Dalton. This series sees the introduction of new main characters Jack Hodgson and technician Clarissa, portrayed by

and

, respectively.

Series 17 (2014)

After the last episode of series 16, it was confirmed that ''Silent Witness'' would return for a 17th series in early 2014.

and

returned for the series, which started filming in April 2013. In the new series

would play new forensic pathologist Dr Thomas Chamberlain. Some scenes were filmed at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

's last game of the 2012–13 season at The Valley and again on 15 May. Filming also took place in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and on the

Tay Road Bridge The Tay Road Bridge carries the A92 road across the Firth of Tay from Newport-on-Tay in Fife to Dundee in Scotland, just downstream of the Tay Rail Bridge. At around , it is one of the longest road bridges in Europe, and was opened in 1966, rep ...

Series 18 (2015)

Emilia Fox confirmed on Twitter that production on the 18th series was underway, and that it should air in 2015.

Series 19 (2016)

Series 20 (2017)

Series 21 (2018)

Series 22 (2019)

Series 23 (2020)

Series 24 (2021)

Series 25 (2022)

After the series 24 finale, a trailer was shown on BBC1 announcing that Amanda Burton would be reprising her role as Sam Ryan in series 25, consisting of six episodes starting on 23 May 2022. Unlike the previous series, the twenty-fifth series features one story spread over six parts.

Series 26 (2023)

Series 27 (2024)

Series 28 (2025)

Silent Witness has been commissioned for a 28th series, with a production move to the West Midlands.

References

External links

''Silent Witness''
@ BBC programmes {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Silent Witness Episodes