document_title: List of Silent Witness episodes

question_text: when did the new series of silent witness start

text: List of Silent Witness episodes

text: Series overview[edit]

text:
Series
Episodes
First airdate
Last airdate
DVD release
Avg. UK viewers

1
8
21 February 1996
3 April 1996
24 July 2006
N/A

2
8
14 February 1997
11 April 1997
17 September 2007
N/A

3
8
19 March 1998
24 April 1998
8 March 2010
N/A

4
6
30 May 1999
16 June 1999
8 March 2010
9.27 million

5
6
11 December 2000
20 March 2001
7 June 2010
8.78 million

6
8
28 September 2002
27 October 2002
7 June 2010
7.79 million

7
8
11 October 2003
2 November 2003
9 August 2010
7.79 million

8
8
5 September 2004
26 September 2004
9 August 2010
7.43 million

9
8
25 July 2005
16 August 2005
10 January 2011
6.89 million

10
10
16 July 2006
14 August 2006
10 January 2011
6.87 million

11
10
28 August 2007
25 September 2007
11 April 2011
6.49 million

12
12
1 October 2008
6 November 2008
11 April 2011
6.32 million

13
10
7 January 2010
5 February 2010
6 February 2012
7.46 million

14
10
3 January 2011
1 February 2011
6 February 2012
7.97 million

15
12
1 April 2012
20 August 2012
25 March 2013
6.59 million

16
10
10 January 2013
8 February 2013
25 March 2013
7.24 million

17
10
2 January 2014
31 January 2014
19 January 2015
7.38 million

18
10
6 January 2015
3 February 2015
30 March 2015
8.82 million

19
10
4 January 2016
2 February 2016
14 March 2016
9.09 million

20
10
2 January 2017
31 January 2017
20 February 2017
8.92 million

21
10
8 January 2018
7 February 2018[11]
12 February 2018
TBA

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Series 1 (1996)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate

1–2
"Buried Lies"
Kevin Hood
Harry Hook
Tom Chadbon, Lesley Dunlop, Alec Linstead, Trevor Bannister
21 February 1996 (1996-02-21)
22 February 1996 (1996-02-22)

Sam returns to Cambridge to take up a teaching assignment and to work for the police. In her first case, she has to deal with the death of a six-year-old girl found floating in a nearby river. The autopsy reveals that the child has suffered previous abuse, including cigarette burns and several broken ribs. Sam receives information from a prison inmate that implicates someone in a previous death and Sam suggests a radical step. In her personal life, Sam has to deal with her elderly mother who is showing signs of dementia and her sister Wyn with whom she has a strained relationship. With the exhumation of a child that had died from abuse some years earlier, Sam is able to demonstrate that there are similarities between the deaths of the two children. There is also only one individual with a connection to both cases. When Sam's house is broken into, her personal safety is put at risk, but she pursues the case with her usual zeal.

3–4
"Long Days, Short Nights"
Ashley Pharoah
Mike Barker
Sean Gallagher, Ronald Pickup, Colin Salmon, James Bree, Timothy Block, James Hornsby, Dione Inman, Philip Anthony
28 February 1996 (1996-02-28)
29 February 1996 (1996-02-29)

When Mark James' decomposing body is found in an abandoned building, there is every indication that he was part of some occult ritual. An upside down cross was carved on his chest, his wrists were bound with ivy and he was strangled. All evidence points to his friend Sebastian Bird, a rich idler who allowed James to live in his house but who had also developed an expert knowledge of the occult before being sent down from Cambridge for having had an affair with a professor's wife. Sam's testy relationship with the police continues as she has difficulty establishing a forensic link in the case and publicly criticizes the well-liked Police Surgeon, Dr. Richard Owen, for attending the crime scene without the proper protective clothing. Sam also has to deal with her rebellious nephew Ricky, who is constantly fighting with his mother and announces that he has left home to move in with her. When another of Sebastian Bird's one-time friends is killed the police are ever more convinced of his guilt and grow increasingly frustrated at Sam's inability to provide them the evidence that they are sure is there. The solution lies in an old case and someone's desperate need for revenge.

5–6
"Darkness Visible"
Ashley Pharoah
Noella Smith
Ken Stott, Philip Glenister, James Aubrey, Michael Troughton, Gwyneth Strong, Caroline John Brendan Coyle
13 March 1996 (1996-03-13)
14 March 1996 (1996-03-14)

Sam investigates the death of a gay man while in police custody. He had been arrested while drunk, and was sharing a cell with another drunk in for the night. The victim died from a blow to the head and was badly beaten post-mortem. DS Farmer is concerned that the assault may have been the work of some of her officers. Sam also meets up with Liam Slattery, an old friend she has not seen for 20 years. Sam's sister, however, is convinced Liam was responsible for the death of their father years before. When a police constable (whose wife reported that he was cracking up) is found dead, the investigating officers themselves believe something is amiss. Sam continues to be harassed by someone unknown, having to call in the bomb squad when she receives a mysterious parcel, and subsequently someone tries to run her off the road. Liam and Sam renew their relationship, but she is faced with a difficult choice.

7–8
"Sins of the Fathers"
Kevin Hood
Ben Bolt
Rex Wei, Teo Wa Vuong
2 April 1996 (1996-04-02)
3 April 1996 (1996-04-03)

One of Sam's students has a problem and seeks some personal advice. She and her family emigrated from Vietnam during the boat people exodus and her father wants her to enter a marriage he's arranged for her. She's worried that her husband to be will realize she is not a virgin and Sam counsels her that honesty is always the best policy, but in this case it drives the prospective groom to violence. When the family's restaurant is burned out, the police find a badly burned body. On the home front, Sam continues to bicker with her sister Wyn about whether their mother should be placed in a home and the bitterness over their father's death continues to divide them. DI Adams and DC Cox's personal relationship is now affecting their work, leading Cox to request a transfer. With the burned body now identified through dental records, the police have a suspect. However, he suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder and the police are concerned that he may lash out. When the police do finally locate him, a member of the team is killed.

text: Series 2 (1997)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate

9–10
"Blood, Sweat and Tears"
John Milne
Julian Jarrold
John Cater, Idris Elba, Frank Grimes, Barry Jackson, Frederick Treves, Ian Liston
14 February 1997 (1997-02-14)
15 February 1997 (1997-02-15)

Boxer Kevin Sharma dies from blows received in the ring, but pathologist Sam Ryan determines that he has a brain injury dating from sometime after his last bout two months ago. One of the governors of the boxing board, retired police Superintendent Jack Reeve, is concerned that it will reflect badly on them. Reeve is also trying to cancel one-time trainer Terence Cross' licence after he is the victim of a hit and run accident that leaves him a quadriplegic. A new Detective Superintendent, Peter Ross, is now in charge and Sam and he knew each other many years previously. Trevor finds himself alone after his wife leaves him. Sam and her sister Wyn bury their mother. Meanwhile, a boxing trainer apparently commits suicide. Sam is not convinced however and with the assistance of a ballistics expert, obtains the evidence to prove the suicide was actually murder. She also learns the reason for Kevin Sharma getting into a bare-knuckles fight and now suspects that Terence Cross' hit and run may not have been an accident. Sam's sister Wyn continues to have difficulty coping following the death of their mother.

11–12
"Cease upon the Midnight"
John Milne
Jacqueline Holborough
Catherine Morshead
Geoffrey Beevers, Joe Duttine, Grant Masters, Roberta Taylor, Renny Krupinski
28 February 1997 (1997-02-28)
1 March 1997 (1997-03-01)

Stuart Evans is 40 years old and in the advanced stages of AIDS. When he dies the night after his birthday party no one thinks anything of it but his parents donate his remains to scientific study. When Sam and Trevor start an examination of the remains, they notice needle marks and suspect his death may not have been straightforward. Their suspicions are confirmed when the toxicology reports indicate an extremely high level of morphine. Mark Tate is also an AIDS sufferer who has been told that he will soon go blind. He too dies suddenly and when the police learn that he and Evans had the same physician, they begin to suspect doctor-assisted suicide. The police make an arrest but soon realize they have the wrong person in custody when a crucial piece of evidence is uncovered. Sam discovers the true identity of the person behind the deaths but rather than tell the police, she decides to let him turn himself in. Unfortunately, this leads to a tragic result. In her personal life, Sam and Peter Ross renew their long-ago romance.

13–14
"Only the Lonely"
Gillian Richmond
Nicholas Laughland
Jessica Lloyd, Alan Hunter, Lloyd McGuire
21 March 1997 (1997-03-21)
22 March 1997 (1997-03-22)

Helen Mathews is found strangled on the street. In the course of the investigation, the police learn that she was having an affair with Alan Whyte, a flying instructor working for her husband Michael. From the evidence, it appears that she was about to leave her husband and move to Canada. The police uncover a similar case from several years earlier with a striking resemblance to this case and are convinced that the two must be connected. Friction again develops between Sam and the police when her forensic analysis demonstrates that the two cases have no connection whatsoever. Sam continues to fret over her decisions in her last case and her personal relationship with Peter Ross reaches a breaking point. With a second murder on their hands, the police make an arrest in the case. Sam however uncovers some very peculiar bruising on both victims that provides the police with the evidence they need to identify the person responsible. Sam's life is put at risk however when the murderer threatens her. Wyn Ryan, who has been living with Sam since their mother's death, has found a job and is now looking to move on. Sam and Peter continue to struggle with their relationship but are determined to make a go of it.

15–16
"Friends Like These"
Peter Lloyd
Richard Signy
Joe Absolom, Kevin Bishop, Christopher Fairbank, Michael Attwell, Stewart Bevan
4 April 1997 (1997-04-04)
5 April 1997 (1997-04-05)

When 75-year-old Millicent Lockwood is found brutally beaten to death in a local park, the police immediately focus on a local who was seen arguing with her a short time earlier. The autopsy reveals little evidence but Sam once again refuses to make the evidence they have fit the suspect, which leads to an inevitable clash with the police. She also sees two youths, Kelvin Price and Ben Quayle, act out part of the murder. The police, however, are pursuing other lines of inquiry and do not have the time, nor the inclination, to pursue Sam's theories. She then sets off on her own investigation, convinced that Kelvin and Ben are the murderers. She is also concerned that one of the boys may do himself harm after a third boy, who was only peripherally involved, hangs himself. The police are concerned that her involvement may actually taint some of the evidence they have and an angry DCI Peter Ross informs her that he has filed a formal complaint with the Coroner and the Chief Constable over her conduct. This obviously affects their professional and personal relationship.

text: Series 3 (1998)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate

17–18
"An Academic Exercise"
Tony McHale
Jonas Grimås
Denyse Alexander, Anthony Bate, Katharine Schlesinger
19 March 1998 (1998-03-19)
20 March 1998

Sam is shaken when she has to look into the death of a very dear friend, Dr. Annabelle Evans, a Cambridge professor. She was found in her home, badly beaten in what appears to be a botched burglary attempt. The police immediately focus on the husband as the likely killer but Sam suspects that an altercation at a local restaurant during the May Ball, where a waiter spilled wine on Annabelle and was fired on the spot, may provide another suspect. Sam is intrigued by the relationship some of her students may have had with Annabelle, particularly when she learns her friend may have had a lover. In her personal life, Sam has moved on. Her sister Wyn has relocated to Ireland and Peter Ross has also been transferred. She does however run into an old friend who also happens to be an acquaintance of her business partner Trevor.

19–20
"Fallen Idol"
Gwyneth Hughes
Alex Pillai
Nick Bagnall, Sudha Bhuchar, Lesley Manville, Jimi Mistry
2 April 1998 (1998-04-02)
3 April 1998

Gemma Boyd, an attractive 17-year-old, is found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Although the cause of death was a broken neck, there is little to indicate whether she fell or was pushed. She was found in a vacant house that her estate agent mother and stepfather were selling. The autopsy reveals that Gemma had already had a child and was pregnant. The police think that Gemma's boyfriend is their man but when someone else is revealed as the father in the latest pregnancy, Sam thinks there is a far more complex set of relationships at play. Meanwhile, Sam's sister Wyn visits from Ireland with big news: she is going to get married. Sam's relationship with James however takes an unfortunate turn and seems to come to an end.

21–22
"Divided Loyalties"
Niall Leonard
Bill Anderson
Neil Stuke, Simon Chandler, Josette Simon, Matthew Delamere
16 April 1998 (1998-04-16)
17 April 1998

Sam looks into the death of Maggie Collins who died of a heroin overdose. Sadly, her body was not discovered for several days and in that time, her infant daughter died of dehydration. Soon after Maggie's death Stephen Jackson, a small-time dealer and addict, is killed in an explosion in his home. The autopsy reveals that both of them died of overdoses from the same batch of heroin and Sam begins to doubt that their deaths were accidental. When another small-time dealer is killed, the police think they have either vigilantes or a turf war on their hands. What they have is something far more complex that involves one of their own.

23–24
"Brothers in Arms"
John Milne
Ian Knox
Elizabeth Berrington, Stephen Churchett, Alec Sabin
23 April 1998 (1998-04-23)
24 April 1998

When Philip Nelson is killed in a farm accident, the pathologists conclude they have a straightforward case of man vs. machine and the machine won. Sam makes an error however and soon finds evidence that points to murder. The police suspect his handyman, all the more so when they discover he was having an affair with Nelson's wife. When the murders continue however, Sam uncovers evidence that connect at least some of the men to events in Northern Ireland when they served in the army together many years before. Sam is more than a little surprised when Charlie, an old friend, sounds her out about taking up a new Chair in Forensic Pathology at London University. DI Michael Connor and his wife take a stab at a reconciliation but he finds it difficult to forgive her infidelity and realizes he has feelings for Sam.

text: Series 4 (1999)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

25–26
"Gone Tomorrow"
Niall Leonard
Matthew Evans
John Flanagan, Melanie Hill, Nigel Terry, Paul Copley
30 May 1999 (1999-05-30)
31 May 1999
9.92
10.91

Now installed in London as a Professor at the university, Sam is called to assist when a helicopter carrying 16 men crashes in the North Sea en route to a drilling platform. The pilot's body is recovered and the autopsy reveals he suffered a heart attack between the time he sent a distress signal and the time the helicopter crash. When Sam discovers the pilot had recently postponed his annual medical check-up, she suspects there is more to this than meets the eye. In completing the autopsies on the recovered bodies, it seems that the aircraft may have suffered a catastrophic failure.

27–28
"A Kind of Justice"
Peter Lloyd
Richard Signy
Tom Georgeson, Peter Jonfield
8 June 1999 (1999-06-08)
9 June 1999
8.47
8.33

Brian McNally is a one-time criminal with a major problem. The day after he is badly beaten by gangster Mike Georghiou, McNally finds Georghiou's strangled body at his business. He's convinced that Mike's brother Tony, also a gangster known for his violent streak, will come after him so he gets Sam to prove that he could not have been the killer. When McNally's body is found at the foot of a building, a supposed suicide, Sam feels she has somehow contributed to his death. What she does not realize is she is not only going up against organized crime, but coppers who've acted as judge, jury and executioner.

29–30
"A Good Body"
J. C. Wilsher
David Thacker
Nick Reding, Jack Dee, Cheryl Hall, Alec Linstead
15 June 1999 (1999-06-15)
16 June 1999
9.49
8.48

Sam is reunited with newly promoted DCI Michael Connor when they investigate a fire in a cinema. Sam manages to identify all but one of the 12 victims, body #10. As she gathers more information, including the use of a facial reconstruction, she comes to believe that body #10 is in fact someone who was supposed to have been killed years before and for which Chris Caldwell was convicted of murder. Sam becomes attracted to Caldwell and manages to get him set free, but when others are subsequently murdered, Connor does not believe Caldwell is quite as innocent as Sam believes.

text: Series 5 (2000–01)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

31–32
"The World Cruise"
Tony McHale
Coky Giedroyc
Andrew Sachs, Joseph Bennett, Ace Bhatti, Richard Todd, Robert Arden, Cheryl Hall, Michael Elwyn, David Simeon, JoAnne Good
11 December 2000 (2000-12-11)
12 December 2000
8.06
7.61

When twin brothers Jake and Henry Davies are found dead in their home, the police initially suspect robbery, as the elderly gentlemen were known to keep large sums of cash in the house. The autopsy reveals murder however and Sam determines that skin grafts both men have on their arms may have been a crude form of plastic surgery meant to cover tattoos of concentration camp numbers. Thinking they are now dealing with a hate crime, the police focus on Carl Martin, a known race-hater. What they have however is a case of someone seeking revenge for the atrocities committed long ago.

33–34
"Two Below Zero"
Tom Needham
Rob Evans
Anthony Head, Mel Martin, Angela Bruce, Stephen Moore
12 February 2001 (2001-02-12)
13 February 2001
9.11
9.20

When the naked body of a young woman is found in the snow at a Norwegian ski resort, Sam is asked to represent the Townsend family whose daughter Ruth disappeared there several weeks before. The autopsy however reveals that it is in fact the body of Louise Hutton who had vanished there some 15 years previously. When Ruth's body is found, it appears both girls were strangled in a similar fashion. The police focus their enquiries on Ruth's boyfriend and on Henry Hutton, Louise's uncle while Sam seeks the advice of a university colleague and tries to draw a profile of the serial killer.

35–36
"Faith"
Stephen Brady
Paul Unwin
Kathryn Hunter, Matthew Marsh, John Castle, Prunella Scales, Tim Woodward, David Quilter
19 March 2001 (2001-03-19)
20 March 2001
9.43
9.28

Sam becomes under great stress when she learns that she may have a tumour. As a result, she starts to question her judgment when she misses a possible explanation in determining the time of death in the case of Lloyd Dupen's wife, an apparent suicide. She's not convinced however that everything is above board and agrees to undertake a second autopsy at the request of the dead woman's mother. When she is asked by local reverend Bishop Craig to perform an autopsy on the remains of Sister Constance, a beatified nun who died forty years ago and is under consideration for canonization. The results of the autopsy affect the religious order as well as many of those in the community who see the commercial advantages of having a local saint.

text: Series 6 (2002)[edit]

text: 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 William Gaminara and Tom Ward respectively.

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

37–38
"The Fall Out"
Tony McHale
Coky Giedroyc
Lia Williams, Lynn Farleigh, Peter-Hugo Daly, Paterson Joseph
28 September 2002 (2002-09-28)
29 September 2002
7.72
7.62

Sam assists the police in the investigation of a multi-vehicle collision that results in the death of eleven people. She is joined by two new colleagues: Dr. Leo Dalton, an experienced pathologist from Sheffield, and Dr. Harry Cunningham, a new trainee pathologist who has just graduated from university. As they try to determine the cause of the accident, they find a severed arm that does not belong to any of the victims. They also have to deal with DCI Carol Deacon, whose role in the investigation appears to be not quite crystal clear to them. The mystery of the severed arm is soon cleared up when the police discover a body floating in a local river with only one arm. Sam decides to conduct her own investigation with little help from the police, however, DCI Deacon soon reveals to Harry that two of the men in the accident were undercover policemen, and realising that Sam is being manipulated, asks her to stay away. The police refuse to inform them of all the details, and soon, Sam's interference has serious consequences. Harry continues to try to find a balance between detachment and compassion as one of the survivors of the crash seeks his assistance.

39–40
"Kith and Kill"
Peter Lloyd
Renny Rye
Ben Crompton, Stuart Graham, Russell Tovey
5 October 2002 (2002-10-05)
6 October 2002
8.16
8.46

The police investigate an apparent break-in that resulted in the death of businessman Derek Irons, his wife and youngest daughter. Two older children survive the attack, but one is in a serious condition and the other in a coma. Sam soon discovers that Irons was a ruthless businessman who targeted his rivals' customers resulting in regular confrontations. When Harry and Leo perform the post mortems on the three bodies, they discover that Irons was stabbed, but his wife and daughter were shot. Sam is soon reunited with an old friend from Northern Ireland, Det. Supt. Tony Ashton, who becomes the senior investigative officer on the case. As the police continue their investigation into the deaths, they begin to believe that he may have been killed elsewhere, and then transported to his home. When one of the two surviving children is murdered, Ashton looks to a circle of friends and family for a possible motive. Meanwhile, Harry assists the police with the death of an old woman who is believed to have fallen down a staircase, however, his post-mortem reveals evidence that is not consistent with a fall. As the police investigate further, they soon discover a link between her death and the Irons family murders.

41–42
"Tell No Tales"
Avril E. Russell
John Duthie
Maggie Lloyd Williams, Sara Powell, Sally Faulkner, Mary Healey, Benedict Cumberbatch
19 October 2002 (2002-10-19)
20 October 2002
7.64
7.92

When a decomposed body is found hidden in the wall of an old factory building, Sam comes to the conclusion that he was murdered. He is eventually identified by his ex-girlfriend Selina Thomson as Marcus Saul, a man who had simply disappeared one day some seven years earlier. The police soon have a suspect in mind, however, new information suggests that the identity of the killer may lie in a completely different direction. Meanwhile, at the university, Leo is asked by the Dean to investigate a break in on campus, which resulted in a large amount of drugs being stolen. Hours later, a student is found dead after suffering a drug overdose, and the university must face the wrath of the girl's father, a major benefactor. When Leo performs the autopsy, it reveals that not only had she taken drugs, but also that she had sexual relations with three different men in the last 48 hours.

43–44
"Closed Ranks"
Tony McHale
Paul Wroblewski
Nicholas Audsley, Chiké Okonkwo, Tim Healy, Kellie Bright, Nick Miles
26 October 2002 (2002-10-26)
27 October 2002
8.03
6.73

Sam investigates when police probation officer Jason Villers is found murdered on a landfill site, after being tied up and being burnt across the back. The police soon establish a link between Villiers' murder and the murder of student Michael Haughty, who was found murdered in the same place just months before hand. With no link between the two killings, the police come to believe that they may have a serial killer on their hands. The police discover information which could result in bringing justice to Haughty's killer –  but appear to have no leads on who killed Villers. When a second police probationer officer is found dead, Sam concludes that they may be dealing with a copycat killer, rather than a serial killer. The police begin to believe that a fellow probation officer may have been responsible for the murders, however, it appears that the commandant, whose son is a trainee student, is covering up the deaths to keep the reputation of the college protected. In a separate case, Harry is approached by the wife of an old university friend who asks him to perform a post-mortem on her husband, who supposedly died in a fall. However, he finds that the man was injecting himself with drugs regularly, and that his wife was the one who was prescribing them to him.

text: Series 7 (2003)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

45–46
"Answering Fire"
Dusty Hughes
Nicholas Renton
Dave Lynn, Leena Dhingra, Roshan Seth, David Quilter, Hugh Hayes
11 October 2003 (2003-10-11)
12 October 2003
8.09
8.00

When a suspected terrorist attack causes an explosion at a hotel, the death of a highly respected government minister appears to be the key to the motive behind the attack. However, Sam soon discovers that an old acquaintance of hers was also at the scene, and as she delves deeper into the case, has to deal with her attempted rape, which occurred earlier that evening. Determined to get to the bottom of the minister's death, she conducts a second autopsy, but her findings are soon undermined by an independent pathologist, who appears to have a stronger link to the case than meets the eye. To make matters worse, the investigation team threaten to strike Sam off if she supports a dead woman's family at an inquest.

47–48
"Fatal Error"
Michael Crompton
Renny Rye
Shelley King, Christopher Mellows, Cal MacAninch, Annabelle Apsion, Edward Petherbridge
18 October 2003 (2003-10-18)
19 October 2003
7.59
8.21

Sam comes under intense scrutiny during an official inquiry into the deaths of two brothers while they were in prison. Her findings are soon challenged by Leo, who is brought in by the Crown to perform a second autopsy. Meanwhile, a series of murders that are taking place cast suspicion heavily on a suspect who has recently been released from prison. He served time in prison after being convicted of killing his wife –  and the evidence against him was given by Sam during one of her very first cases. During his time in prison, he continued to protest his innocence –  but did years behind bars change him for the worse? Sam soon comes to believe that someone is stalking her, and the police have trouble locating the ex-convict.

49–50
"Running on Empty"
Ed Whitmore
Jon East
Brian Bovell, Don Gilet, John Bowe, Doña Croll, Katherine Kelly
25 October 2003 (2003-10-25)
26 October 2003
8.47
6.81

When a sports agent is found dead, the police suspect suicide. However, Sam is not convinced, and when the post-mortem reveals that she was in the early stages of pregnancy, and that she had severe bruising to her arms, signs of a sexual assault appear to convince Sam otherwise. Matters are complicated further, however, when a client that she was having an affair with is also found dead. Tests reveal the father of her baby is Caucasian, which rule out her client, but appears to implicate her husband for the murder, despite his alibi. However, Sam is soon sidelined from the investigation following a disagreement with DI Jayne Hurst, and Harry's efforts to determine the time of death prove unreliable.

51–52
"Beyond Guilt"
Michael Crompton
Renny Rye
Daniel Casey, Tim Plester, Paul Copley, Peter Howell, Joy Harrison
1 November 2003 (2003-11-01)
2 November 2003
8.30
6.86

Sam, Leo and Harry are alarmed when the home office assign them to re-examine the work of independent pathologist Peter Sachs. Between them, they investigate three of Sachs' cases - the murders of Craig Proctor, Brian Morris and Zoe Adams. Although Sam and Leo suspect Sachs is acting suspiciously, Harry refuses to believe that he is in the wrong. Sam discovers that Sachs has been using a new method of determining time of death, and against her better judgement, uses Sachs in order to provide evidence to determine the time of death of Eddie Doyle, who was murdered due to being a witness to Craig Proctor's murder.

text: Series 8 (2004)[edit]

text: Series 8 was confirmed alongside series 7. This series saw the departure of Amanda Burton as Dr. Sam Ryan and the introduction of new character Dr. Nikki Alexander, portrayed by Emilia Fox.

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

53–54
"A Time to Heal"
Stephen Brady
Ashley Pearce
Ciarán McMenamin, Des McAleer, Yvonne O'Grady, Daragh O'Malley
5 September 2004 (2004-09-05)
6 September 2004
8.33
7.88

When the bodies of two men are exposed during a landslide in Ireland, Sam is forced to make a long overdue painful journey home. The subsequent investigation suggests the pair died during the sectarian violence of the 1970s. However, a secret closer to home soon comes to light. Sam discovers that her estranged son, whom she had at 16, is still living in Ireland –  and the investigation soon leads her to his doorstep. The investigation reveals evidence of RUC corruption, and Sam is soon startled when the evidence points to the involvement of a member of her own family. As the police pull out all the stops to track down the killers, Sam makes an announcement that stuns her colleagues.

55–56
"Death by Water"
Dusty Hughes
Patrick Lau
Natalie Press, Anton Lesser, Kate Fleetwood, David Harewood, Phyllis Logan
12 September 2004 (2004-09-12)
13 September 2004
7.78
6.85

Leo and Harry's professional rivalry erupts following Sam's departure. They find themselves dealing with the case of several children living on the coast who have experienced unexplained breathing difficulties, leaving one boy, Paul, dead. While Harry believes that the case is simply nothing more than mass hysteria, Leo suspects something more sinister. Meanwhile, a man, Nick Garner, is found dead in his car with a stab wound to the chest. When a link between the stab victim and the ill children begins to emerge, Leo becomes determined to discover who is responsible before any more fatalities occur. However, it may be too late, as a baby, Ella, dies after being refused hospital care. Harry discovers the truth behind Nick Garner's death, and Leo realises that a boatyard may hold the key to the children's symptoms.

57–58
"Nowhere Fast"
Richard Holland
Danny Hiller
Ramon Tikaram, Anastasia Hille, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Joe Duttine
19 September 2004 (2004-09-19)
20 September 2004
7.54
6.92

After being promoted into the Professor's position, Leo is surprised to be united with Dr. Nikki Alexander. Nikki, a pathologist whose expertise lies in solving Iron Age mysteries with modern day techniques, finds herself covering new ground when she ends up bringing her expertise to bear on a modern murder. The case in question is the death of a jockey crushed by his mount during a race. Harry and Leo suspect it was simply an accident. However, when two of the horses' owners are killed in a helicopter crash, evidence emerges that both the horse and the pilot were drugged. Harry and Leo suspect syndicate member Matt Gibb was responsible for the deaths of his co-owners and the jockey, and Nikki's skills help expose the cracks in his story. Gibb confesses to drugging the horse but denies any involvement in the helicopter crash, leaving the pathologists divided over whether to believe him.

59–60
"Body 21"
Michael Crompton
Douglas Mackinnon
Danny Webb, Emma Cunniffe, Amita Dhiri, Eddie Marsan, Shaun Parkes
25 September 2004 (2004-09-25)
26 September 2004
7.26
6.87

The team are approached by the survivors of a major train crash, which resulted in the death of twenty-one people. Looking for answers as to who and what caused the crash, they ask Leo, Nikki and Harry to attempt to identify 'Body 21', one of the twenty-one victims who has yet to have been named. However, determined to investigate the actual cause of the crash by using backdoor methods, Leo begins to uncover a tangled web of lies. He begins to suspect that Army Major Mark Wiltshire is involved, after his stolen Landrover is what is known to be the cause of the crash, but an alibi places him in the mess hall at the time of the incident. Working with the survivor's group, the team attempt to re-create the layout of the train prior to the crash occurring. The investigation delves deeper when one of the surviving passengers commits suicide. Harry and Leo soon discover that the identification of the last victim could lead to revealing the cause of the crash, and that the solution lies on discovering an unknown romantic affair and a marital betrayal.

text: Series 9 (2005)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

61–62
"Ghosts"
Tony McHale
Richard Signy
Liam Garrigan, Nicholas Gleaves, Jacquetta May, Jack Deam
25 July 2005 (2005-07-25)
26 July 2005 (2005-07-26)
7.14
6.97

Leo receives devastating news from home –  his wife and daughter have been involved in a hit-and-run accident, prompting him to set off for Sheffield immediately. Meanwhile, Nikki is called out to a river when the bodies of two unidentified women are discovered, both shot in an execution-style. Upon his arrival in Sheffield, Leo is greeted with awful news and, haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter, he goes on a quest to find the man responsible. Harry and Nikki attempt to counsel him as the police infiltrate a gang of identity fraudsters, but when he finally catches up with the enemy, he faces a difficult choice between exacting revenge or following legal procedures.

63–64
"Choices"
Doug Milburn
Andy Hay
Freema Agyeman, Craig Kelly, John McEnery
1 August 2005 (2005-08-01)
2 August 2005 (2005-08-02)
6.32
6.13

The team are called to the scene of a drive-by shooting, where they are joined by detectives from Operation Trident investigating a turf war between drug gangs. The case proves less clear-cut than expected when evidence emerges that someone returned fire. The vehicle used is soon traced to an abandoned industrial unit, where a decomposing corpse is uncovered –  and Nikki resolves to find out the true cause of death. The detectives discover club owner Ainsley Modest is under pressure to hand over his establishment to a local gang –  but is not going down without a fight. With a second shoot-out imminent, the team face a race against time to track down the elusive gunsmith before he can arm both factions for the confrontation. Harry follows up a lead, but finds himself in a dangerous situation, and Nikki continues to investigate Lisa's death.

65–66
"The Meaning of Death"
Rhidian Brook
Bryn Higgins
Nicholas Sidi, James Vaughan, Velibor Topic
8 August 2005 (2005-08-08)
10 August 2005 (2005-08-10)
7.46
5.67

The team pursue a serial killer with a grisly desire to look at his victims' faces as they die, and the trail leads into the world of academic philosophy. However, Nikki is distracted from the case by the death of her grandmother, while Harry investigates the demise of a woman who apparently drowned in three inches of water. Nikki finds the cruelty of the serial killer's crimes too much to cope with –  but a picture belonging to her grandmother provides the flash of inspiration that may put the murderer behind bars. Meanwhile, Harry delves into the death of the drowning victim, discovering that her demise was the result of a cruel twist of fate.

67–68
"Mind and Body"
Jeff Povey
Richard Signy
Tim Bentinck, Richard Hope, Jan Pearson, Lolita Chakrabarti, Clive Wedderburn, Terence Maynard
15 August 2005 (2005-08-15)
16 August 2005 (2005-08-16)
8.02
7.38

Leo is called to investigate the suicide of Kevin Perry, a mental patient from the January House private care home, who has recently been released after his course of treatment ended. Fellow patient David Nicholson is also on the warpath, stabbing three innocent victims in his latest psychotic episode, killing two, before he is captured by police. Meanwhile, Harry is tasked with investigating the suspected suicide of seventeen-year-old Nazim Theara, who reportedly jumped in front of a train for no apparent reason. When the doctor treating both Perry and Nicholson, Dr. Sanders, fails to explain why the pair carried out such actions, Nikki and Leo are forced to dig deeper, and discover that someone has been tampering with the patient's medication. But when the doctor in question decides to attempt suicide, Nikki becomes convinced that he was the one responsible, causing their conditions to remain uncontrollable. As Harry continues his investigation, against the girl's adamant mother, who is positive she did not kill herself, he discovers that the girl had taken the same cocktail of anti-depressants taken by suicide victim Kevin Perry - and the lead soon becomes linked to a dodgy online pharmacy.

text: Series 10 (2006)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

69–70
"Cargo"
Doug Milburn
Michael Offer
Elizabeth Bower, Burt Kwouk, Amanda Liberman, Sang Lui, Wai Kee Chan
16 July 2006 (2006-07-16)
17 July 2006 (2006-07-17)
6.15
6.29

Four bodies are found in the Thames after a boat full of illegal immigrants founders. Realising they are dealing with a people-trafficking operation gone disastrously wrong, Leo, Harry and Nikki set out to discover if there are any survivors - or any other deaths - while also delving into the victims' past. The team soon manages to identify the four bodies, and discover two of them were a couple fleeing China because they wished to have a second child. Nikki realises their six-year-old daughter was also on the boat, and may still be alive. Meanwhile, the detectives close in on the gang running the people-trafficking operation.

71–72
"Terminus"
Jeff Povey
Alrick Riley
Sean Wilson, Samuell Benta, Gillian Wright, Nigel Betts, Daniel Ainsleigh
23 July 2006 (2006-07-23)
24 July 2006 (2006-07-24)
7.10
7.04

The team members find themselves under pressure whilst working a number of parallel cases. Harry is called out to a council estate in which a sixteen-year-old boy has been killed in a hit-and-run, Leo investigates the cause of a fire that left a housewife dead and Nikki is called out when a bride-to-be collapses and dies on her hen night. Harry discovers that the car that killed the young boy has a custom paint job, linked to only a small number of cars in the country - but before he can inform the investigating officer, she is killed after being hit by a bus. Meanwhile, Nikki assists the detective looking into the house fire in a separate case in which an office prank has proved fatal, Leo investigates the death of a dentist whose body was found on a night bus and Harry discovers a link between the apparent suicide of a high-profile footballer and the death of the young boy.

73–74
"A Body of Work"
Rhidian Brook
Martyn Friend
Linda Thorson, Larry Lamb, Sean Chapman, Richard Huw, Jim Findley, Robert Ashby
30 July 2006 (2006-07-30)
31 July 2006 (2006-07-31)
6.82
6.87

Harry's burgeoning relationship with Nikki is jeopardised when his ex-girlfriend Penny is killed in a car crash. It looks like suicide at first glance, but DCI Lauren Ambrose uncovers evidence that the victim may have had an affair - as well as a secret child. Meanwhile, Leo examines the staged death of a conceptual artist, Jimmy Triangle. With Harry determined to find Penny's killer, he and Nikki are pushed further apart when he forces her to re-examine Penny's body. Leo is puzzled by more contrary clues in Triangle's bizarre death - and soon becomes convinced that someone is playing a twisted game.

75–76
"Supernova"
Paul Farrell
Philippa Langdale
Tamsin Egerton, John McEnery, Natalia Cappuccini, Gregory Foreman
6 August 2006 (2006-08-06)
7 August 2006 (2006-08-07)
6.76
7.07

When Leo is called to investigate the apparent suicide of 14-year-old Alison Garland, it evokes painful memories of his daughter's death. But with the help of the school's child psychologist, he realises the girl was murdered. The case is soon linked to another incident in which a car salesman, Chris Duncan, was killed with the same knife. When the deputy headteacher of the school is also found dead, Leo realises that the killings are connected to a sinister teenage pact. Meanwhile, Nikki investigates the death of an elderly victim, who appears to have died of as the result of injuries she sustained to her head and legs - but she soon believes that there is more to the situation than meets the eye.

77–78
"Schism"
Christian Spurrier
Nick Renton
Nicholas Le Prevost, Joseph Mawle, Jemima Rooper, David de Keyser, Paul Panting
13 August 2006 (2006-08-13)
14 August 2006 (2006-08-14)
7.27
7.30

A teenage girl is found tortured to death in a London dogs' home, and an office employee at one of the world's largest animal experimentation facilities is found dead in her flat. It soon emerges another woman is being held hostage by the culprits, who turn out to be the owners of the facility itself, who have kidnapped a violent team of animal activists who were seeking to raid one of the experimentation facility buildings. However, the case becomes much more complicated when Nikki is kidnapped by the activist's group leader. Harry faces a race against time to find her captors, who are based deep inside the woods. Meanwhile, Leo's best friend Lionel is forced to partake in a hearing against his conduct, and Leo must decide whether to follow his conscience at the expense of his best friend's livelihood.

text: Series 11 (2007)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

79–80
"Apocalypse"
Stephen Davis
Maurice Phillips
Julian Glover, Dominic Jephcott, Ian Dunn, Heather Bleasdale
28 August 2007 (2007-08-28)
29 August 2007 (2007-08-29)
6.27
5.42

Harry and Nikki are called to investigate when an RAF helicopter crashes into a detention centre for failed asylum seekers, shortly after appearing at a nearby airshow, which both Harry and Nikki were attending. When it appears that the military are trying to hush up the incident, they each open their own investigations to prove that the pilot was not at fault for the crash, and to identify a mysterious girl who fled the site amid the carnage, taking Nikki's handbag with her. With Harry's attempts to prove the pilot innocent bordering on obsession, the father of the deceased asks him to perform an independent autopsy, which reveals that at the time of his death, he was taking medication for anxiety, which was brought on by the fact he believed that the aircraft was not safe to operate. Meanwhile, Nikki identifies the detention centre victim, but realises that by doing so, she may have put his daughter in danger with his long list of dangerous enemies.

81–82
"Suffer the Children"
Greg Dinner
Brendan Maher
Matthew Wait, Steve Toussaint, Michael Byrne, Adjoa Andoh, Alan Westaway
3 September 2007 (2007-09-03)
4 September 2007 (2007-09-04)
6.85
6.31

The discovery of the mutilated body of a young African boy in a river forces Leo to face a ghost from his past - the death of his own daughter, Cassie. Questions are raised as to whether the victim was murdered in a ritual killing, and evidence points the team in the direction of a nearby church - however, Leo has other ideas, and suspects that the murders may be related to a local African cult group, operating from a warehouse unit in central London. Meanwhile, Nikki investigates the suspicious death of a priest from a local Catholic boys' school, Father Reed, who appears to have been taking drugs for depression at the time of his death. Looking for evidence at the scene of the mutilated child's body, Harry and Leo discover the badly decomposed body of another young African boy, which continues to spark disagreements between them, resulting in accusations of racial bias dogging their attempts to solve the case. Meanwhile, the body of another man linked to the priest's murder gives Nikki more leads to follow up, and leads her on a trail of revenge, death and confusion amongst the school.

83–84
"Hippocratic Oath"
Tony McHale
Diarmuid Lawrence
Natasha Little, Richard Standing, Tanya Moodie, Jamie Parker
10 September 2007 (2007-09-10)
11 September 2007 (2007-09-11)
7.19
6.48

An accident involving a lorry and a funeral procession results in the bizarre discovery of two bodies inside a coffin - that of the deceased, Ethel Mortimer, and an unknown young man who suffered from a coke addiction. Meanwhile, Leo and Nikki's suspicions are aroused during a post mortem on a child, Ellie Harris, who died during a high-risk operation. When the second body is identified as Jamie Featherstone, the boyfriend of nurse Claire Kizowski, both investigations lead the detectives to a surgeon, Alice Huston, who appears to have a high rate of fatality amongst her patients. Investigating the possibility that someone on Huston's team is responsible for Jamie's death, Nikki is viciously attacked when she goes to meet Claire in the hospital basement. As she struggles to remember who attacked her, Harry works hard to discover just what happened to Jamie on the night of his death, and looks into Huston's case files, only to discover that she is being sued by the parents of a deceased patient - Sam Reid. However, when Harry discovers that Reid's death was down to Huston's registrar, who is also discovered to be an impostor, he soon realises that he may have worked out who is responsible for Jamie's death.

85–86
"Double Dare"
Michael Crompton
Maurice Phillips
Hugo Speer, Lizzie McInnerny, Danny Midwinter, Anna Wing
17 September 2007 (2007-09-17)
18 September 2007 (2007-09-18)
7.19
6.42

A horrific car crash poses troubling questions for Nikki when she discovers that one of the two victims was the recently released Anna Holland, an accomplice to a particularly brutal murder whom she helped escape a life sentence four years earlier, by providing evidence for the defence. As it appears she was stabbed before her death, the police attempt to discover who knew the location of the safe house in which she was staying - and who had a strong enough grudge to want her dead. As the investigation progresses, Nikki re-interviews key witnesses from the original case, and begins to doubt her earlier conclusions. As she prepares to publicly concede that she could have been wrong about Anna's innocence, Leo urges her not to throw her career away while there is still uncertainty - however, her father puts a spanner in the works when he sells Nikki's story to the papers, in order to secure money to clear his debt. Meanwhile, Harry tries to identify two bodies found buried in the garden of a house, and allotment, owned by a retired a Spanish couple. However, he soon discovers that they are connected to his colleague's troubling case, which may or may not provide the ammunition to either clear or implicate Anna in murder.

87–88
"Peripheral Vision"
Christian Spurrier
Bruce Goodison
Michael Colgan, Ian Puleston-Davies, Nick Brimble, Archie Panjabi, Renu Setna
24 September 2007 (2007-09-24)
25 September 2007 (2007-09-25)
6.31
6.43

Nikki investigates the discovery of human bones on a former Travellers' site, and realises they could be the remains of a senior police officer's missing teenage daughter, Clara Young. However, her forensic analysis raises even greater questions, when she discovers that she has found the remains of two bodies - which casts doubt on the guilt of the chief suspect. Meanwhile, Harry is assigned to an insurance case that takes a peculiar twist, when it is revealed that the victim may have died of CJD, contracted through a blood transfusion operation in India. When the main suspect in the investigation into the human remains is murdered, Nikki feels she is being shut out of the case and is left unsure who to trust. However, her lone enquiries bring her into greater danger, when she discovers that someone close to the Travellers may be responsible for the killings. Meanwhile, Harry learns he has been deceived, and believes he has no option but to pursue the truth alone, in an attempt to get justice for the victims of the scam.

text: Series 12 (2008)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

89–90
"Safe"
Timothy Prager
Susan Tully
Aml Ameen, Marva Alexander, Elijah Baker, Sidney Cole, Karl Collins, Paul Higgins
1 October 2008 (2008-10-01)
2 October 2008 (2008-10-02)
5.89
5.67

Nikki investigates the murder of a teenage girl, who fell from a ride at a funfair after being brutally raped and stabbed, and suspects the killing may have been part of a gang initiation. Meanwhile, Leo finds himself doing community service after getting caught drink driving and is first on the scene when an attack takes place where he's working. When he tries to get information from the victim, he disappears from the radar, and only after he performs a botched stabbing does he finally reveal all he knows. However, Harry and Nikki only discover this much later when Leo finally confessed to them that he was doing community service for DUI. Meanwhile, the police struggle to secure any concrete evidence against gang leader Keenan, who manages to evade them and continue his killing spree. Just when all hope seems lost, however, the team make a breakthrough, but with the deaths of two brothers. The older one trying desperately to save the younger brother from joining the dangerous gang life, but ended up dead in enemy territory, while the younger boy was attacked by a dog, set on by Keenan who was furious that he spoke to the police.
Keenan was finally caught for statutory rape of the young girl that was murdered, when they tested DNA against the child that she was carrying when she was murdered. However, the gang life goes on without Keenan, when the next leader was seen recruiting a young boy into the group.

91–92
"Death's Door"
Stephen Davis
Diarmuid Lawrence
Naomi Bentley, Neil Dudgeon, Phil Davis, Andrew Byron, Ryan Kiggell
8 October 2008 (2008-10-08)
9 October 2008 (2008-10-09)
6.54
6.73

Harry befriends eager medical student Holly Farr after giving a lecture to a group of trainees and involves her in his latest case, the post-mortem of a woman whose body was found at the side of a road with the face expertly removed. Nikki tries to reconstruct the victim's features to help identify her, but Holly immediately recognises her as Fran Price –  a former TV presenter and journalist who had fallen on hard times. The team's relationship with Holly falls apart due to a lack of trust, forcing Harry to pursue his own line of inquiry. As he searches for the truth, he finds himself conducting a press conference with Oleg Kovik, a Russian oligarch who claims Fran Price was a friend of his, and that he is the next target of her killer because of a book he was helping Fran to write.
Things become muddled when Harry sees the Detective Superintendent investigating the murder entering Holly's home after he visited her just a few minutes earlier. She was later found dead in her bed.

93–94
"Terror"
Michael Crompton
Alex Pillai
Geraldine Alexander, Andrea Lowe, Shaun Dooley, Michael Higgs, Doña Croll, Kevork Malikyan
15 October 2008 (2008-10-15)
16 October 2008 (2008-10-16)
6.41
6.44

An armed police raid at a terraced house in North London sees two suspected terrorists killed, along with a police officer. Nikki doubts the officers' accounts of events after carrying out the post mortems, as the forensic evidence just does not add up. The case then takes an unexpected turn when it transpires one of the surviving policemen is having an affair with his dead colleague's wife. Nikki and Harry form a bond as they search for the truth, but accusations fly and paranoia is heightened when another terror suspect dies in hospital. Meanwhile, Harry uses cutting-edge techniques to uncover the identity of one of the suspected terrorists, and soon discovers, much to his surprise, that she was a police officer, working undercover for the drug squad. Leo performs the post mortem on the third terror suspect, and soon realises that the team's assumptions about the shooting were wrong –  and that the real assailant is still at large.

95–96
"Judgement"
Christian Spurrier
Diarmuid Lawrence
Ron Cook, René Zagger, Sophie Stanton, Conor Mullen, Reece Ritchie, Jo Woodcock
22 October 2008 (2008-10-22)
23 October 2008 (2008-10-23)
6.70
6.29

When the body of a member of the Jewish Hasidic community, Yitshok Hassam, is discovered, the team agree to perform a 'dry' post mortem on the victim to respect the wishes of his faith. A forensic link is found to a group of Polish labourers, but Harry begins to wonder whether the victim's wife is hiding something, and decides to carry out a full autopsy to determine the time of death. When another Jewish body is also found, Harry becomes convinced that his and Yitshok's deaths are linked. DNA testing suggests the killer is Hasidic, but the police refuse to believe the claims and demand that Harry be taken off the case. However, Nikki decides to stand by her colleague and the pair make some shocking discoveries after re-testing all of the DNA samples.

97–98
"The Lost Child"
Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble
Dudi Appleton
Reece Dinsdale, Fiona Wade, Alan Williams, Michael Begley, Daniel Hill, Peter Guinness
29 October 2008 (2008-10-29)
30 October 2008 (2008-10-30)
5.89
6.25

A boy's body is discovered near his school, and a search is launched when the classmate he was last seen with, Liam, is reported missing. After it transpires the deceased was abused and had traces of an unknown toxic chemical in his body, the youngsters' headmaster, a man who used to teach Nikki, becomes a suspect - and a second corpse is found. The search for Liam resumes and a link is discovered between the dead schoolboy's stepfather and the missing child. Meanwhile, Nikki performs a post mortem on the second body and finds traces of the same unknown toxin present in the first. Leo and Harry try to identify and locate the source of the chemical in a bid to find out where Liam is being held, and are led to a container hidden in the woods.

99–100
"Finding Rachel"
Michael Crompton
Tim Fywell
Patrick Baladi, Robert Pugh, Sian Webber, Kevin Doyle, John Kani
5 November 2008 (2008-11-05)
6 November 2008 (2008-11-06)
6.70
6.32

The team flies out to Zambia to investigate the death of a doctor, Rachel Gates, who had gone missing two weeks earlier. It transpires that she was volunteering as a practitioner for a mission, and had believed a number of refugees died in suspicious circumstances. Leo and Nikki carry out a post-mortem, but their findings throw the case into disarray. The bones originally thought to be Rachel's are identified as another victim, a local woman, and the search for her body begins. When Rachel's friend Bethany is found dead inside a nightclub, Nikki is arrested for attempting to carry out a post-mortem on the girl against her mother's wishes. Harry learns foul play was involved in Bethany's death, and Leo has the local water samples tested - with surprising results.

text: Series 13 (2010)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)
[12]

101–102
"Intent"
Timothy Prager
Udayan Prasad
Polly Frame, Lucy Cohu, Nigel Lindsay, Ruth Sheen, Jonty Stephens, Paul Broughton
7 January 2010 (2010-01-07)
8 January 2010 (2010-01-08)
8.56
7.81

Harry and Nikki are tasked to investigate the death of insurance investigator William Byfield, who appears to have committed suicide by suffocating from fumes from an exhaust pipe piped into his car. An initial examination appears to confirm that theory, until lab assistant Charlie re-examines the stomach contents, and faints at the smell of cyanide being present - suggesting that the deceased may have been poisoned, not stabbed. Meanwhile, Leo is confronted by Byfield's replacement, Clare Ambler, after she discovers that Byfield's last case was investigating the untimely death of Stephen Connelly, a healthy middle-aged man. However, despite his signature being on the post mortem report, Leo has no recollection of ever performing one - and nor is there any record that Connelly's body ever arrived at the Lyell Centre. Believing that Leo has committed fraud on behalf of the deceased's relatives, Clare has Leo investigated by the police - but her crusade is short lived, when Leo is smashed on the back of the head and left for dead outside his house. It doesn't help the case when Harry and the Connelly widow have an affair. She is briefly suspected of murdering her husband and the situation turns from bad to worse when the body of coroner's assistant David Levin is found in the boot of Connelly's widow's car.

103–104
"Voids"
Ed Whitmore
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Emily Joyce, John Lynch, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Souad Faress, Adam Kotz, Josephine Butler
14 January 2010 (2010-01-14)
15 January 2010 (2010-01-15)
7.78
7.59

Stock banker Bridget Flannery is found dead at the bottom of her stairs. However, with the crime scene having been disturbed by the family's dog and a blundering WPC, Harry and Nikki struggle to decide whether her death was accidental - or if somebody repeatedly struck her over the face, causing her to fall. Suspicion quickly falls on the victim's husband, media personality Tom Flannery, who has an old grudge with the police, which appears to be the deciding factor in whether or not to charge him with his wife's murder. In an attempt to prove Tom's innocence, his lawyer asks Nikki to perform a second post mortem - but the results are less than satisfactory for Harry, whose evidence appears to contradict Nikki's point for point. As the pair are unable to decide cause and motive of death, they find themselves battling it out in a courtroom. But when photos are leaked to the press regarding the death of Flannery's first wife, Nikki starts to doubt her own evidence - and believes that she may have interpreted the case from completely the wrong angle. Meanwhile, with Leo still recovering from his attack, Harry decides to use the situation to his advantage, and suspecting that the fate of Olga, may also lie in Flannery's hands, he persuades Leo to put him in touch with a professor in Prague, only to discover that Olga was also murdered - leaving him in no doubt that Flannery is their chief suspect.

105–106
"Run"
Andrew Holden
Susan Tully
Alec Newman, John Bowe, Natalie J. Robb, Frances Tomelty, Diana Hardcastle
21 January 2010 (2010-01-21)
22 January 2010 (2010-01-22)
7.44
7.10

Leo's first case on his return to work involves the shattered body of a young woman, Ruth Gardiner, found below a block of derelict flats, having apparently fallen from the roof. The post-mortem indicates suicide, but Leo realises he missed vital signs when he uncovers evidence that the girl had been shot in the head before being dragged to the roof and thrown off, leading the police to reopen the case. When DI Neill seems reluctant to pursue the possibility that Ruth may have been an informant for an undercover police officer, Phil Nelson, Leo starts to wonder if Ruth's death is part of a cover-up. When a gun is found near Ruth's squat, investigations lead Neil to Alex Webb, an employee of a local car dealership. Harry, meanwhile, is forced to confront some uncomfortable family secrets when an old family friend, Mary Bradburn, shows up at the Lyell Centre for the post-mortem of her husband, James. Discovering that James had taped a plastic bag over his head in order to suffocate himself, Harry is forced to come to terms with some of his own family revelations, when Nikki persuades him to finally look into the circumstances of his own father's suicide. Meanwhile, Leo discovers that Phil Nelson is just one of three aliases used by Peter Carmody, and realises that he is linked to another two murders - including that of Alex Webb.

107–108
"Shadows"
Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble
Farren Blackburn
Elliott Tittensor, Phyllis Logan, Anna Chancellor, Ian Gelder, Tom Bennett
28 January 2010 (2010-01-28)
29 January 2010 (2010-01-29)
7.39
7.64

When a student suicide occurs on a university campus, Leo liaises with the Dean and investigating officer DC Saich after it emerges the deceased, Jason Renfrew, was the victim of bullying. Concern grows when a gun and live ammunition are discovered in the dead boy's locker, and the contents from a memory card found in his stomach reveal files containing photos of students, some of whom he named as his tormentors. Before the team can investigate further, their fears become a horrible reality as one of the main campus buildings comes under attack by a rampaging shooter, trapping Harry and Nikki inside. All Leo can do is watch helplessly via CCTV security cameras as his colleagues try to help the wounded. Specialist firearms officers storm the building and find suspected shooter Scott Weston, lying on the floor, with a bullet wound to the head. As the wounded and dead are wheeled out, Harry stays to help the paramedic attending to Weston. Unable to help, Nikki returns to the pathology lab, but realises she is not alone, when student Neil Corrigan enters the lab and locks the doors behind him. As Leo starts preliminary post mortems on the victims in a temporary mortuary in the university's sports hall, he soon realises that there were two guns used in the incident. Meanwhile, with Neil pointing a gun at Nikki, she starts to work out events as he slowly confides in her, and it soon becomes apparent Weston had a much bigger agenda than the shooting - blowing up the entire campus with a number of chemical bombs.

109–110
"Home"
Michael Crompton
Paul Wilmshurst
Amanda Lane, Crispin Letts, Mojisola Adebayo, Sindi Harrison, Andre Jacobs, Ben Kruger
4 February 2010 (2010-02-04)
5 February 2010 (2010-02-05)
6.85
6.46

Nikki returns to her childhood home in South Africa, after she is hired by a private security firm to investigate the cold case of the disappearance of five young men in the 1980s, known as the Kensington Five. However, upon excavating the crime scene, she discovers the remains of six bodies, and begins to wonder if the culprit has told everything. Meanwhile, Harry and Leo are also in Cape Town for a scientific conference, but are waylaid by respective requests to lend their expertise to the examination of a woman's body dragged out of a bay, and the effort to reverse the deportation of a Zimbabwean asylum seeker, Kudzai, who was tortured in her home country. When Kudzai is recruited by a corrupt immigration official to work at a local brothel, Leo discovers a link between the dead woman from the bay and the owner of the brothel itself. As Nikki manages to confirm that the skeletons she is asked to examine are the remains of the Kensington Five, she decides to pay a visit to informant Captain Brackenfell - but soon discovers that a corrupt politician, who is a good friend of her ex-business partner, was the man whose information lead to the murders, she is left to make a difficult decision about her love life. And as Harry and Leo get closer to the truth, they discover that there are plenty of untold, dirty secrets held deep within the African countryside.

text: Series 14 (2011)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Guest artist(s)
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)[12]

111–112
"A Guilty Mind"
Timothy Prager
Susan Tully
Roy Marsden, Kelly Harrison, Mark Lewis Jones, Michele Austin, Sorcha Cusack
3 January 2011 (2011-01-03)
4 January 2011 (2011-01-04)
7.41
7.60

The day after Professor Silverlake, a consultant neurologist at the Dartmouth London hospital, raised his voice at three patients for smoking and drinking on the premises, all three are found murdered in their hospital beds. Silverlake, apparently the last doctor to visit the ward, later goes berserk with a shotgun after he is accused of the killings and is shot dead by a police marksman. Leo and Harry believe they have a cut and dried case, but when the ward's night nurse is also murdered, realise they could have a cover-up on their hands. Meanwhile, Nikki is deeply upset at having to perform an autopsy on an eight-year-old girl who is suspected to have been raped and murdered by convicted criminal Jason Bodie, a man upon whom Professor Silverlake once performed live-saving surgery. Whilst Bodie is committed as unfit to plead, Silverlake's daughter Naomi asks Leo and Harry to help clear her father's name of murder. As Nikki's mental instability over the girls' death worsens, Harry and Leo are forced to get her psychiatric help. But as the true identity of the perpetrator of all of the murders is discovered, it becomes a race against time to save Nikki's life and prove that Naomi is responsible.

113–114
"Lost"
Richard Davidson
Anthony Byrne
Christine Tremarco, Samantha Seager, Barbara Flynn, Mark Benton, Sean Baker
10 January 2011 (2011-01-10)
11 January 2011 (2011-01-11)
7.87
8.19

Nikki's archaeologist friend Patrick becomes excited when a woman's body, apparently a thousand years old, is unearthed on a Yorkshire moor. However, dental records show she is a more recent murder victim and Leo, who once worked in the area, believes she is Jodie Fisher, a teenage girl who went missing in 1985. Three other girls were murdered at the time, and the killer, Karl Bentley, was caught and jailed. Leo decides to visit Bentley in jail, however, realises that the wrong man may have been jailed after a copycat killing is committed just hours later. Leo travels to Sheffield, where he uncovers the identity of the fresh victim, Kelly Summers. Leo reconnects with the mother of Jodie Fisher, the case he handled in 1985 and it was revealed that he had a brief affair with her after that. However, DNA tests confirms that the body found was not of Jodie Foster's.
He soon realises, however, that Bentley may have had an accomplice, who is still at large. This is confirmed when investigating officer Sonia Hardwick finds a letter to Bentley from his boyfriend in the original case file, supposedly buried by the original investigating officer, ACC Maynard. Leo soon deduces that Bentley's lover, Bill Fisher, may be responsible for all of the murders. He was responsible for Jodie's death, whose body was buried on his parents' ground after killing her when she found out about Billy and Bently's secret affair and threatened to tell his mother.

115–116
"First Casualty"
Michael Crompton, Oliver Brown
Keith Boak
Kirsty Mitchell, Alicya Eyo, Philip Whitchurch, Josette Simon, Phaldut Sharma
17 January 2011 (2011-01-17)
18 January 2011 (2011-01-18)
8.50
8.21

When army soldier Lieutenant Lockfield takes his own life at the Hillsdon army base, his friends and colleagues believe the suicide was caused by the traumatic experience of watching his friend, and fellow officer, Danny Ferris, die in battle. However, evidence soon comes to light that just before his death, Lockfield had been arguing with Catz, Ferris's ex-girlfriend. And when the body of a young female is pulled from a nearby river, it turns out to be none other than Catz herself. When Nikki discovers that Catz was having an affair with Lieutenant Lockfield, she suspects foul play may have resulted in her death, and that there may be an ulterior motive that contributed to Lockfield's suicide. Meanwhile, Harry carries out the postmortem on Lockfield, and soon discovers he did not commit suicide, and was instead murdered, after the discovery of a bullet lodged in the front of his brain - fired after the fatal shot that killed him. When Nikki discovers Catz made a phone call to former soldier Dennis Croft, who was cashiered for drug peddling just before her death, she believes it could be the clue to uncovering the real identity of Catz's killer. And when the police catch Croft skulking at Catz's flat, they take him into custody, only for him to reveal that there was a cover-up over Danny Ferris's death, and that Ferris was in fact shot by one of his own men during the battle. Danny Ferris's father also claimed that the army did not fully disclose what happened on the battlefield. After discovering that Croft was on the army base the day that Lockfield was murdered, the police soon believe they have caught the killer of both victims. CCTV evidence, however, discovers that Catz's death was due to a bizarre accident, when she fell down a staircase in the bus after meeting Lockfield. Lockfield accidentally shot Ferris during the battle and could not come to terms with it and suffered PTSD when he was back in UK. He threatened to shoot himself in front of his sergeant during an argument, but the sergeant thought it was better to have him dead than kill more of his team on the battleground because of his mental state since returning from battle. Harry confronted him before boarding the 'plane for his next deployment to Afghanistan, but Harry could not prove his guilt.
Six months later, the sergeant was killed in battle.

117–118
"Bloodlines"
Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble
Dudi Appleton
Kata Dobó, Mike Kelly, John Rado, Julian Glover, Lili Bordán
24 January 2011 (2011-01-24)
25 January 2011 (2011-01-25)
8.32
7.53

Harry finds a new case on his hands when his girlfriend of three months, human rights lawyer Anna Sandór, calls him to Budapest to investigate the death of a prostitute. He is warned by British diplomat Duncan McBurney to avoid getting entangled in Anna's activities, and when Anna is murdered, suspicion falls on his shoulders, and he is forced to go on the run as the police appear to be in league with the Ukrainian gang he believes are responsible for her death. Leo arrives from Britain to find Harry, and soon learns that Anna was pregnant. Assisted by Janos, an ex-Communist, Harry arranges to meet Leo at the ferry terminal, but Anna's murderer gets there first, shoots Janos dead and corners Harry. Leo arrives to hear gunshots, and finds a burning body on the promenade. Nikki is soon warned of the trouble and flies out to join the team, however, the police soon identify the burning body as Harry's. However, soon after, Nikki and Leo receive a mysterious phone message inviting them to a rendezvous. There they find Harry, who tells them how his would-be murderer was accidentally killed, and that he planted his own possessions on the burning body to enable him to evade the police. The team continue to investigate Anna's murder, and question a prostitute, Marina, in the hope of finding the motive and exposing her killers. A scam to steal prostitutes' babies and sell them to childless couples is finally revealed, and the police who behaved so suspiciously turn out to be undercover officers involved in catching the villains - whose leader and mastermind turns out to be diplomat McBurney.

119–120
"The Prodigal"
Michael Crompton
James Strong
Kate Ashfield, Matthew McNulty, Derek de Lint, Joe Montana, Stephanie Carey
31 January 2011 (2011-01-31)
1 February 2011 (2011-02-01)
8.40
7.69

Nikki, Harry and Leo are called to the Dutch Embassy in the wake of a shooting, in which an unidentified gunman has shot dead three people - police constable Ryan Barlow, Dutch ambassador Peter Van Buren's sister, Trudy, and a third victim, only identified as Van Buren's personal bodyguard. During the shooting, Van Buren's daughter, Klara, is also injured, and his eight-year-old grandson, and Klara's son, Jack, disappears without trace. With the revelation that Van Buren's son, Yacoub, also disappeared without trace fifteen years ago, and that his brother, Diedrick, was killed in a car accident three years ago in Nigeria, Nikki starts to believe that one lone assailant may be responsible for the 'curse' that has tainted the Van Buren family for the past several years. Klara manages to survive her injuries, alongside her boyfriend, and fellow police constable, Craig Whitehead, but her shock revelation that the gunman was in fact none other than her missing sibling, Yacoub, sends the police and the pathologists on a wild goose chase. However, the news coverage has a strange effect on Van Buren's au pair Mary Olivant, who is later found hanged from a tree on Hampstead Heath, having committed suicide. And when the case looking into Yacoub's disappearance is re-opened, Nikki discovers that the third victim may not be Van Buren's bodyguard, and the team come close to uncovering a dark family secret - until the Dutch Embassy throw them off the case, and another pathologist, James Sabiston, who trained with Leo and Harry at the Lyell centre, is called in to carry out the postmortems on the deceased police officer, Trudy Van Buren and the questionable identity of the third victim. When it is discovered that Van Buren's brother Diedrick, who had supposedly died three years ago, is the third victim, the team open a whole can of worms, including the possibility that Van Buren was responsible for the death and disappearance of his son.

text: Series 15 (2012)[edit]

text: Series 15 was confirmed in April 2011. It is the last to star Tom Ward, as Dr Harry Cunningham

text:
Episode[13]
Title
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Viewers
(millions)[12]

121–122
"Death Has No Dominion"
Ed Whitmore
Andy Hay
Shelley Conn, Vincent Regan, Adam Best, Nick Hobbs, Shobu Kapoor
1 April 2012 (2012-04-01)
2 April 2012 (2012-04-02)
7.93
6.86

The team attend a triple murder at a farmhouse, where the investigating detective, DI Connie James, wastes no time making her presence felt. The pathologists soon make a breakthrough when DNA found at the scene matches that of a mysterious female serial killer –  although Nikki has cause to question the direction they are heading in. The case is proving difficult for Leo, however, whose mind is in turmoil following the suicide of an old friend. Harry persuades Connie to disobey orders and test DNA evidence from the original investigation, and Janet is called in to help build the personality of the female serial killer. Leo is still troubled by the suicide of his friend Lizzie Frazer, prompting Nikki to dig deeper into the murder of the woman's sister ten years before. The episode is partly based on the Phantom of Heilbronn case.

123–124
"Domestica"
Richard Davidson
Anthony Byrne
Anthony Flanagan, Alex McSweeney, Neil Maskell, Kate Magowan Megan Prescott
8 April 2012 (2012-04-08)
9 April 2012 (2012-04-09)
7.35
6.67

Harry is disturbed to be called to a crime scene at the home of a family he knows, (flashbacks showing him and Nikki attending a party a few years earlier in the same house), and finds the bodies of the mother and her teenage daughter, while her stepson lies in a coma –  although her toddler has been left unharmed. The police suspect the woman's husband to be the killer –  but the pathologist is not so sure of his guilt. The double-murder investigation reveals more about the tangled lives of the inhabitants of Magnolia Drive, involving the couple, the husband's brother, the ex-wife, the neighbour and her son. Harry makes a significant discovery about the dead woman's stepson Charlie, found lying in a coma at the crime scene, whilst uncovering a deep dark family secret which played a part in the sequence of events leading to the deaths. Meanwhile Leo sets out to recreate the shape of the mystery weapon, with the help of forensic scientist Gill Bailey.

125–126
"Paradise Lost"
Stephen Davis
Edward Bennett
Rakie Ayola, Pooky Quesnel, James Cosmo, Dominic Jephcott, John Carson
15 April 2012 (2012-04-15)
16 April 2012 (2012-04-16)
7.59
5.53

Nikki is furious with Leo when he re-examines a child abuse case by her former mentor, leading to conflict between the pathologists. But she soon has more to worry about when a workman at the centre reveals how his mother, Annie is being manipulated by a convicted serial killer into searching for his hidden teenage victims' bones. The team tracks down the detective who originally worked on the Arnold Mears case, who admits just wanting to lock Mears up after several team members resigned/transferred because they could no longer take the gruesome stories by Mears. Coincidentally, Leo is visited by Nikki's former mentor who may be suspended/revoked due to disciplinary issues, asks him to review a research she did on Arnold Mears. She was found dead the next day after committing suicide, with a suicide message to Leo on her computer and a letter from Mears was found, containing an extract from the book Paradise Lost.
The team continues the investigations which led Nikki to examine the church he visited as a boy, Mears is furious that the police have been made aware of the undiscovered bodies and he sends Annie out to search for her daughter who he claimed he knew where she was. Eventually, he agrees to talk, but only to Nikki. Can she outwit the scheming convict and compel him to reveal the whereabouts of the corpses –  and Annie?

127–128
"Redhill"
Ed Whitmore
Andy Hay
Juliet Aubrey, Maurice Lee, Leo Gregory, Gillian Kearney, Stephen Greif, Jonathan Wrather
22 April 2012 (2012-04-22)
23 April 2012 (2012-04-23)
7.16
5.89

There is little sympathy when child-killer James Wade dies in his cell, but Leo's encounter with dying ex-prison inspector Rachel Kruger compels him to investigate the notorious Redhill jail –  only to come up against a wall of silence. Meanwhile, Harry meets Wade's sister Miriam and agrees to help find her brother's killer. Harry and Nikki dig deep into DI Bridges' past and soon make a significant discovery. DI Bridges had an affair with one of the prison guards, Kessler and covered for him when they were partners 10 years earlier. The affair resulted in her having a son, while married. Leo is determined to get at the truth about the murder of ex-prison inspector Rachel Kruger and decides to follow violent officer Kessler –  but before long he finds himself in dangerous territory. It was later revealed that Miriam Wade paid a handsome sum to the prison doctor, deeply in debt for medical expenses for his daughter, to poison her brother in prison with a patch during a routine exam. She wanted to remove any links to the Wade surname and this failed to work out and resulted in the death of Kruger and her assistant who were investigating the Redhill prison, including the doctor's financial records for the big sum of money recently credited into his account. When the doctor realized how close he was being found out, he resorted to killing Kruger and her assistant.
Leo admits to Janet that he no longer loves her any more.

129–130
"Fear"
Dudi Appleton, Jim Keeble
Mike Barker
Mark Letheren, Tamzin Outhwaite, Tom Ellis, Adrian Dunbar
29 April 2012 (2012-04-29)
30 April 2012 (2012-04-30)
6.23
5.42

Leo visits old college friend Sean Delaney at his psychiatric care centre in Essex, where one of the patients, Eve, was found dead in her bed. Although the coroner ruled a verdict of sudden death syndrome, Delaney is not convinced and asks Leo to investigate. Suspicion soon falls on the dead girl's father, who has lost the family fortune and his wife –  but the pathologist runs into problems when the local detective sergeant gives him a less-than-warm welcome, making it clear she is suspicious of his motives. The team delves deeper into the circumstances surrounding Eve's death. Leo confronts the girl's mother and comes close to what actually happened the night before her daughter died, while Harry and Nikki track down the nun who performed the exorcism - and are shocked by what they find. Psychiatrist Sean turns his attention to Eve's brother John, who believes he is also possessed by the demons that haunted his sister - is history about to repeat itself? Or, more crucially, does anyone care?

131–132
"And Then I Fell in Love[14][15][16]a"
Timothy Prager
Keith Boak
Madeline Duggan, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Sam Troughton, Thusitha Jayasundera, Elyes Gabel
19 August 2012 (2012-08-19)
20 August 2012
6.44
5.97

Nikki sees a barefoot girl being knocked over by a car, marking the beginning of a case that takes the team into the harrowing world of sex grooming and prostitution for underage girls. The police know the teenager has been abused but the question is, by whom? Suspicion soon falls on her stepfather. Meanwhile, an early-morning bath saves Harry's life, and two puzzling corpses are brought in to the centre –  a heavily tattooed man and a decomposed body found in a suitcase at the airport. Nikki uses facial reconstruction to identify the decomposed body found at the airport, and she and Harry make a crucial connection between the dead girl and sex-grooming victim Shannon, who is later returned to her family. When Shannon was in the hospital, she remained very afraid of the men kept her in a lock room for prostitution and refused to give information to the police. But when her stepfather learns about her ordeal, he vows revenge on the men who abused her. She later commits suicide when she was sent a video of her ordeal by her kidnappers. Meanwhile, the men lured two more young school girls into the business, but one of the men took a liking to one of the girls and tries to save them, though he died while trying to escape with the girls from one of the men. When one of the girls visited the morgue to see the man who saved her earlier, Nikki attempts to convince her to provide information to the police. This results in the capture of all except one of the men, who was later beaten to death by Shannon's stepfather, who was devastated after watching the video of her rape on her phone. Meanwhile, Harry moves in with Nikki when his flat blows up in a gas explosion.

text: ^a Episodes originally in swapped places.

text: Series 16 (2013)[edit]

text: 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 William Gaminara, as Professor Leo Dalton.[17] This series sees the introduction of new main characters Jack Hodgson and technician Clarissa, portrayed by David Caves and Liz Carr respectively.

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
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Viewers
(millions)[12]

133
"Change - Part 1[18]"
Timothy Prager
Anthony Byrne
10 January 2013 (2013-01-10)
7.59

John Briggs (Tim Pigott-Smith), a wealthy, ageing confectionery company owner, is found dead in his London hotel suite. Nikki listens to the arguments put forward by forensic scientist Jack Hodgson (David Caves) to prove to sceptical DS Gold that there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. It is learned that Briggs was losing a desperate fight to prevent the sale of his ailing company to investors. Michael Trenter, his business advisor, seems keen to conceal Briggs’ murky private life from the press, as it threatens to devalue the "family brand". Briggs' brother, Philip, is shocked to learn that Briggs has left control of the company to his estranged daughter, Geraldine, who ponders on the reason for her involvement. Suspicion falls on a "call-girl" seen leaving the hotel, but Briggs' lawyer Annette Kelly reveals that the girl, Deana, is in fact Geraldine's daughter, adopted when her mother was sixteen.

134
"Change - Part 2[18]"
Timothy Prager
Anthony Byrne
11 January 2013 (2013-01-11)
7.09

It becomes obvious that someone is leaking information to the press, and Jack accuses DC Gus Cook, resulting in a fight between the two. When Deana's body is found by the Thames, Jack deduces that she was murdered and finds her mobile phone, which shows that she was in league with Trenter; DNA proves that she was not in fact Geraldine's daughter. Annette Kelly reveals information about Briggs and Trenter to Geraldine. When she too is found murdered, Geraldine is suspected. When questioned by the police, Geraldine reveals that her daughter was a product of rape by her uncle, Philip and she was forced to give up the baby. Whilst the company's value falls to the point where the main bidder, Schwartzman, can pick it up for next to nothing. When Philip learns the extent of Trenter's double-dealing, he kills him; Trenter is subsequently revealed to be the murderer of both Deana and Annette Kelly. Leo decides to secure the Lyell Centre’s future by employing Jack to head up a new forensics department. Jack insists on bringing along his trusted technician, Clarissa (Liz Carr).

135
"Trust - Part 1[19]"
Richard Davidson[20]
Richard Clark
17 January 2013 (2013-01-17)
7.44

Nikki and Jack investigate the death of two women, who have been tied up and tortured in a basement. The trail of evidence leads eventually to a research institute where Lucas Ballinger is employed. Meanwhile, Leo becomes involved in the case of a young woman imprisoned for the murder of her baby, as a result of a direct approach from the baby's father, who wants to avoid having his older son taken into care whilst not wishing to incriminate himself. When a third woman is killed in a similar manner to the first two, the team discover a link with both Hearns, an ex-soldier, and Ballinger, who goes on the run. The investigation is complicated by Jack's feelings for the investigating police officer, DI Reid, a former lover whom he suspects of having previously betrayed him by tampering with forensic evidence. Nikki, at first sympathetic towards Reid, changes her view when she is trapped in a building set on fire by Hearns to conceal the third murder and Reid fails to help her.

136
"Trust - Part 2[19]"
Richard Davidson[20]
Richard Clark
18 January 2013 (2013-01-18)
7.29

Ballinger tracks down and kills Hearns, then goes after his boss at the research institute, Dr. Fell, who is behind Hearns' activities and the release of anthrax spores to create demand for a vaccine manufactured by his company. Ballinger was also unaware that his wife was three months pregnant which nearly caused him to kill Dr. Fell. Nikki and Jack see through Reid when she begins an affair with a senior officer, and track Ballinger to a park, where he reveals that he was blackmailed by Hearns into participating in the release of the spores because Hearns had kidnapped his wife, one of the murdered women. Nikki tried to talk to him and managed to extract the bag which looked suspicious to the police before an impatient Reid brings in a police sniper to kill Ballinger, and is finally shamed by the failure to find any weapon among his personal effects.

137
"True Love Waits - Part 1[21]"
Ed Whitmore & Tracey Malone
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
24 January 2013 (2013-01-24)
7.39

When a pub landlady is stabbed to death and her little finger is cut off by the killer, Nikki seeks to prove the innocence of the dead woman's husband, Roly Henderson, against the police's mounting evidence to suggest his involvement. Concerned for the couple's young daughter, Nikki convinces Jack and Leo that this is in fact the latest victim of a psychopathic serial killer, and, when Jack discovers that the intransigent DI Kate Warren has falsified evidence under the influence of her father, a senior police officer, he joins in the search. Under pressure from her father, DI Warren arrests Henderson for the murder of his wife. Nikki visits another convicted man who was imprisoned for murdering his wife and she finds that the couple could have been attacked by the same man. After further investigation of the evidence to this murder, the team pursue other suspects and suspicion falls on Alan Lane, an ex-policeman who has already served a prison sentence for the murder of his own wife and currently lives on the farm and sells hiking equipment out of a van. Nikki visits Alan's mother-in-law who informs her of Alan's behaviour before and during their marriage and that her husband was found murdered, and that she was asked to move out after Alan and her daughter moved into their farm.

138
"True Love Waits - Part 2[21]"
Ed Whitmore & Tracey Malone
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
25 January 2013 (2013-01-25)
7.33

Nikki tracks down Anne Percival, the retired detective involved in the case. Unknown to the team, Percival is aware that Lane's wife Imogen is not dead, and is assisting Imogen in protecting herself and her daughter from discovery by Lane. When Percival contacts Imogen, she felt it was necessary to kill Lane in order to protect Imogen. She went to the family farm where he lives, however Lane overpowers her and tortures Percival to death in an attempt to discover Imogen's whereabouts, then kidnaps his own daughter, Karen, to lure Imogen back to him. When confronted by the police, he shoots DI Warren dead. Nikki saves Jack's life when Lane arrives at the scene of the kidnap when Lane attack them as they are freeing Karen. While being taken away, Lane shows that he still cares for Imogen, who remains terrified of him as before. Henderson is reunited with his daughter.

139
"Legacy - Part 1[22]"
Stephen Gallagher
David Richards
31 January 2013 (2013-01-31)
7.49

When Tom Hancock's son Peter dies of cancer, Tom seeks an explanation and turns to Leo to help him find the cause. At about the same time, the decomposing body of Colin Connor is discovered in an old nursing home, about to be converted into ecologically-friendly apartments while the adjoining farmland is to be used for affordable housing. Behind the scheme is Lord Embleton, a government minister who is attracted to Nikki after meeting her at a function. Embleton's father, Sir William, tries to discourage him from the scheme, and is in secret contact with a sinister government "advisor", David Loader. Leo is intrigued by the post-mortem discovery that both Colin and Peter had the extremely rare Fanconi's Syndrome, and begins to think that Tom Hancock's suspicions may be well-founded. Jack finds evidence to suggest that Colin was in the disused building with a companion, who left him to die after his arm became trapped in a conduit while trying to steal copper wire. Suspicion falls on Colin's employer, Brian Blackburn, and his son Derren, who appears to have undergone a personality change since his association with Colin.

140
"Legacy - Part 2[22]"
Stephen Gallagher
David Richards
1 February 2013 (2013-02-01)
7.24

Leo and Jack visit the deserted farm to look for evidence of contamination but are taken into custody by soldiers who claim that the land is in use as an army firing range. On their return, Jack scrapes their shoes and finds evidence of groundwater contamination. Leo is contacted by the farm's former owner, George Ryder, who says he has information about the cause of the contamination, but when they attempt to meet at the old nursing home, Leo finds Ryder's dead body and sees Derren running away. In the ensuing police pursuit, Derren falls off a ladder and dies; the post-mortem reveals that he was suffering from similar symptoms to Colin and Peter. Jack suspects that Derren was not responsible for Ryder's death, and finds evidence that implicates David Loader. Meanwhile, after Leo's house is burgled, he is suspended for allegedly losing confidential files, which he said he would never bring home and suggests that this was a set-up. Nikki tries to get help from Lord Embleton, with whom she is having an affair, but Embleton's father tries to stop him becoming involved with her. Leo seeks help from Tom Hancock, and they go to the farm again and discover the source of the radioactive contamination: a tunnelfire with a train carrying a nuclear warhead. In there, they also found evidence that children have been visiting the area to play and spend time. When Leo finds a video in Tom's basement revealing that his son and several other local boys had been in the tunnel without realising the danger, Tom takes a parcel of radioactive dust and threatens Sir William, who shows no remorse for covering up the disaster. Lord Embleton and David Loader enter Embleton's private office, not knowing that Tom has booby-trapped it, and both are covered in a fatal dose of radioactive dust from the tunnel. In the final scene, Leo walks back into his office, watched by Nikki, Jack and Clarissa.

141
"Greater Love - Part 1[23]"
Dudi Appleton & Jim Keeble
Douglas Mackinnon
7 February 2013 (2013-02-07)
6.92

After human remains are found at an Afghan water project, the brother of missing soldier Dan Lambert begs Leo to go to Afghanistan to prepare the body for repatriation and discover whatever they can about how he died. Nikki and Jack go with him, and almost immediately encounter apparent hostility from private security guards working at the site. Their leader, Sean Nugent, is reluctant to allow contact with three Taliban prisoners, and appears to be losing control of his men when one of the prisoners is found hanged in their cell; Nikki suspects that one of the other guards is responsible, and discovers that one of the prisoners, "Karim", is an Englishman. Leo develops a relationship with Fawzia, the Afghan charity worker responsible for the water project, and is assaulted one night outside the compound. Evidence begins to point towards Lambert having been killed by friendly fire. Clarissa interviews Scott Lambert again, and discovers that Nugent was an NCO with the original military team of which Dan was a member; her e-mail is concealed from Leo by Nugent.

142
"Greater Love - Part 2[24]"
Dudi Appleton & Jim Keeble
Douglas Mackinnon
8 February 2013 (2013-02-08)
6.60

While Jack is investigating decomposition rates in the local climatic conditions, he comes across further parts of Lambert's body. In the meantime, Leo and Nikki are accidentally locked in the cell with Karim and the other Taliban prisoner, and Karim appears to confess to having been involved in Lambert's killing. After Nugent takes the prisoners to be handed over to the local authorities, Jack realises that the body parts are not Lambert's at all, and that "Karim" is in fact Lambert himself. By the time he alerts the guards, the prisoners have murdered Nugent and escaped. At the opening of the new water project, Leo spots Karim/Lambert in disguise, and discovers that he is intending to carry out a suicide attack. As Leo walks him away from the site, the explosives are detonated and both are killed.

text: Series 17 (2014)[edit]

text: After the last episode of series 16, it was confirmed that Silent Witness would return for a 17th series in early 2014.[25] Emilia Fox, David Caves and Liz Carr returned for the series, which started filming in April 2013. In the new series Richard Lintern would play new forensic pathologist Dr Thomas Chamberlain.[26] Some scenes were filmed at Charlton Athletic's last game of the 2012–13 season at The Valley and again on 15 May. Filming also took place in Dundee and on the Tay Road Bridge.

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
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Viewers
(millions)[12]

143
"Commodity - Part 1[27]"
Timothy Prager
Daniel O'Hara
2 January 2014 (2014-01-02)
7.92

Top-flight footballer Isaac Dreyfus' days at the top are numbered when a sex tape links him to the brutal murder of a young woman, threatening to destroy his reputation and marriage. Nikki struggles to come to terms with Leo's death following the arrival of the new Lyell Centre boss, pathologist Thomas Chamberlain. However, her feelings surface when DI John Leighton and DS Anne Burchett demand results in two unsolved cases - a mother and son murdered in their wealthy London home and the disfigured body of a young woman.

144
"Commodity - Part 2[28]"
Timothy Prager
Daniel O'Hara
3 January 2014 (2014-01-03)
7.84

Footballer Isaac Dreyfus desperately fights to prove his innocence, whilst disillusioned Adam Freedman turns to a mysterious source for help to avenge the murder of his wife and child. Under scrutiny from the press, the police are determined to nail their prime suspect and pile pressure on The Lyell Centre to deliver results. However, when Nikki questions the motive behind the murders, a re-examination of the Freedman crime scene leads Jack to make a startling discovery.

145
"Coup de Grace - Part 1[29]"
Graham Mitchell
David Richards
9 January 2014 (2014-01-09)
7.20

Nikki delivers ground-breaking testimony in the high-profile appeal court case of David Bennetto, a convicted killer who has spent the last six years behind bars for the murder of two gay teenagers. But bitter DI Rachel Klein remains unconvinced that she caused a miscarriage of justice and cannot hide her contempt, especially when another young man is found dead bearing the same hallmarks of the previous murders. Meanwhile, Nikki's professionalism is brought into question due to her increasingly close relationship with lawyer Greg Walker (Tobias Menzies).

146
"Coup de Grace - Part 2[29]"
Graham Mitchell
David Richards
10 January 2014 (2014-01-10)
7.33

Nikki's professional reputation is on the line when her romantic involvement with lawyer Greg Walker leads her face-to-face with a raging Bennetto. Thomas is under mounting pressure from DI Rachel Klein and the Home Office as he battles to save the Lyell Centre's reputation in the midst of a media storm. Grieving for the death of his murdered son, newspaper hack Peter Masham strikes an unlikely deal with Bennetto's brother-in-law. Meanwhile, Jack and Clarissa uncover the true identity of murder victim Byron Lee.

147
"In a Lonely Place - Part 1[30]"
Ed Whitmore & Tracey Malone
Craig Viveiros
16 January 2014 (2014-01-16)
7.59

Nikki and Jack head to Scotland to help earnest rural detective DS Jason Ross investigate the chilling murder of a lap dancer found in a remote forest. In their search to find a suspect, the team clash with rogue city detectives DS Mike MacNeil and DI Simon Laing.

148
"In a Lonely Place - Part 2[31]"
Ed Whitmore & Tracey Malone
Craig Viveiros
17 January 2014 (2014-01-17)
7.59

As more human remains are unearthed in the forest, it becomes horrifyingly apparent that a dangerous serial killer is at large. News of the murders unsettles new mother Sarah, who is harbouring a dark secret from her partner Steve.

149
"Undertone - Part 1[32]"
Ed Whitmore & Declan Croghan
Nicholas Renton
23 January 2014 (2014-01-23)
7.23

The murder of a very recently pregnant young woman found in a suitcase leaves Nikki, Jack and Thomas in a race against time, not only to catch her killer, but to find the baby.

150
"Undertone - Part 2[33]"
Ed Whitmore & Declan Croghan
Nicholas Renton
24 January 2014 (2014-01-24)
7.19

151
"Fraternity - Part 1"
Graham Mitchell
Dusan Lazarevic
30 January 2014 (2014-01-30)
7.09

Things get personal for Jack when his brother becomes a suspect in the murder of a young woman.

152
"Fraternity - Part 2"
Graham Mitchell
Dusan Lazarevic
31 January 2014 (2014-01-31)
6.83

Thomas, not trusting Jack to remain objective, brings in a new forensic scientist (Haydn Gwynne) to work on the case instead.

text: Series 18 (2015)[edit]

text: Emilia Fox confirmed on Twitter that production on the 18th series was underway,[34] and that it should air in 2015.[35]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
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Viewers
(millions)[12]

153
"Sniper's Nest - Part 1[36]"
Ed Whitmore
David Richards
6 January 2015 (2015-01-06)
9.01

Nikki and Jack investigate when a sniper randomly picks off three people in a petrol station car park. As Jack tries to identify the weapon, a fourth victim is found nearby, having been shot at the wheel of her car. With the DCI attached to the case more concerned about her own private affairs than catching the killer, it's not long before the sniper strikes again, this time picking off a gardener of a local estate. The latest killing, however, fails to show all of the hallmarks of the first four deaths, and the scene has been left in a much sloppier way than the tidy and neat arrangement of the first two crime scenes.

154
"Sniper's Nest - Part 2[37]"
Ed Whitmore
David Richards
7 January 2015 (2015-01-07)
8.94

Jack suspects a second killer or an accomplice may be at work. A sixth victim, a lorry driver, in then picked off whilst picking up breakfast at a local service station. Meanwhile, evidence relating to the murders is discovered which implicates the owner of a local army and navy store. However, as Nikki, Jack and DCI De Freitas arrive, the shop goes up in flames having been the victim of a bomb attack. Working on the theory that the fifth murder is the key to the entire case, Jack realises that the team are closer to the killer than they think, and makes a shock discovery when he goes to visit the son of one of the victims.

155
"Falling Angels - Part 1[38]"
Graham Mitchell
Craig Viveiros
12 January 2015 (2015-01-12)
8.65

Nikki and Jack investigate a bizarre set of murders which appear to have no initial relation to one another. The first is a man who is pushed in front of a train on the London underground. The second is a female vicar who is found brutally attacked and murdered in her bathroom by her husband and daughter. Next, a young builder is viciously attacked in an alleyway on his way home from work. Meanwhile, one of the officers assigned to the case, DI Luke Nelson, is having flashbacks about the murder of his father, which occurred when he was just six years old. He asks Nikki to have a second look at the evidence, convinced that there could be a technicality, which could prove his mother's innocence in the crime.

156
"Falling Angels - Part 2[39]"
Graham Mitchell
Craig Viveiros
13 January 2015 (2015-01-13)
9.01

With two further murders now on the cards, Nelson and his team realise they are slowly running out of time. When he goes to question local hotel worker Lana Sutherland, little does he know that the killer is sitting right under his nose. With the killer's appearance having radically changed since he committed the attacks, CCTV of the killer attacking and stabbing a shopkeeper allows the team to step-up the manhunt. It's not before the killer and his accomplice try to steal a baby do the police actually come close to catching them.

157
"Protection - Part 1[40]"
Timothy Prager
Daniel O'Hara
19 January 2015 (2015-01-19)
9.05

Nikki and Jack investigate when a man's body is found in a children's playground. The body is soon identified as Dale Barge, a friend of the parents of an eight-year-old child, Lizzie Craddock, who has gone missing. Social worker Louise Marsh is furious, having applied for an interim care order just days previously, aware that the child was at risk. When a bite mark is found on the body that matches Lizzie, the victim is discovered to have been a paedophile. Meanwhile, a young boy, Kevin Garvey, releases himself from a care home on his sixteenth birthday, determined to rebuild his family. Social worker Marsh has said that the children can re-unite with their mother if she agrees to split up with her dangerous partner.

158
"Protection - Part 2[41]"
Timothy Prager
Daniel O'Hara
20 January 2015 (2015-01-20)
8.99

When Kevin's grandfather reveals to him that his stepfather once raped his sister, getting her pregnant, Kevin goes on the rampage and the next day, his stepfather is found murdered in his cab. An infant is then admitted to hospital with severe bruising, and Marsh again applies for an interim care order. She ignores the advice of a junior doctor who is positive his parents have not abused him, and that the bruising is the result of a rare medical condition - but Marsh takes no notice and has the child taken into care anyway.

159
"Squaring the Circle - Part 1[42]"
Matthew Arlidge
Marek Losey
26 January 2015 (2015-01-26)
8.72

Nikki and Jack investigate when, whilst on the way home from his child's birthday day, two armed hitmen on a motorcycle botch an assassination attempt on Russian oligarch Maksim Bazhanov. However, during the attack, his Ukrainian nanny is hit and killed. The two men are found to have links to a terrorist organization called Free London. The senior officer on the case, DI Parkes, is being hassled by a senior commissioner to find out who is responsible - and fast. Meanwhile, the commissioner's daughter, who works for a security company who are responsible for the security in the apartments where Bazhanov is living, begins to develop a relationship with the leader of Free London.

160
"Squaring the Circle - Part 2[43]"
Matthew Arlidge
Marek Losey
27 January 2015 (2015-01-27)
8.41

When the commissioner's daughter is later found dead in Bazhanov's apartment, and Bazhanov disappears without trace, the commissioner pressures DI Parkes to plant evidence to frame someone for her daughter's murder. Meanwhile, Jack's instinct leads him to uncover Bazhanov's body in the Thames, and proof that Bazhanov was not responsible for the young girl's murder. When the head of security at the apartment becomes the prime suspect, a relationship between the Doshi siblings is torn apart when she is forced to admit that she was responsible for Bazhanov's death.

161
"One of Our Own - Part 1[44]"
Tom Butterworth & Chris Hurford
David Drury
2 February 2015 (2015-02-02)
8.84

A rising star in the Essex police force is found beaten and shot in his burnt-out car in what proves to be an emotional case for his colleagues. The team helps DCI Jim Sullivan, the detective charged with bringing the killer to justice, and it isn't long before suspicion falls on Dean Fallon - a local drug dealer and the son of a known crime boss.

162
"One of Our Own - Part 2[44]"
Tom Butterworth & Chris Hurford
David Drury
3 February 2015 (2015-02-03)
8.55

When Dean Fallon proves to have a solid alibi, the investigation shifts closer to home.

text: Series 19 (2016)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title[45]
Written by
Directed by
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Viewers
(millions)[12]

163
"After the Fall - Part 1"
Ed Whitmore
David Drury
4 January 2016 (2016-01-04)
9.35

When terminally ill DJ Max Walsh is found dead in his bath, a case which the team initially dismiss as suicide turns out to be something much more sinister, when the post-mortem uncovers traits similar to a case that Nikki previously dealt with three months ago. Nikki tries to work out the connection between the two victims. When an intruder breaks into Nikki's flat, she suspects that she is being stalked and that the two victims were murdered to frame her for her inability to discover the truth behind their murders. Clarissa identifies a fingerprint found on the back of her kitchen clock, which suggests that her former mentor, Belinda Roach, may be behind the break-in. During a confrontation at her house, Belinda ventures outside and is later found dead, having been hit over the head with a torch which appears to have been stolen from Nikki's car.

164
"After the Fall - Part 2"
Ed Whitmore
David Drury
5 January 2016 (2016-01-05)
9.41

Having been arrested for the murder of Belinda Roach, Nikki tries to plead with investigating DI Pamela Rankin (Liza Tarbuck), while Jack tries to find evidence proving her innocence. After eventually being released on bail, Nikki finally establishes a link between the two victims. However, her life is once again placed in danger when a hitman corners her in the basement of her flat. Managing to escape danger once more, Nikki establishes that all of the events are connected to the trial of Tony Hamilton, whom Nikki helped convict more than ten-years previously for throwing his pregnant girlfriend out of the window. However, having been innocent of the crime, it appears someone is trying to avenge Hamilton's imprisonment by murdering anyone involved with the trial. Can the team identify the killer before he or she claims another victim?

165
"Flight - Part 1"
Graham Mitchell
Richard Senior
11 January 2016 (2016-01-11)
9.27

Local Imam and anti-fundamentalist Amir Aziz is found murdered at the bottom of a flight of stairs. DI Nina Ryman (Esther Hall) is assigned to the case, and immediately makes a connection to an EDL supporter seen at the mosque shortly before the murder. Meanwhile, Jihadi convert Sarah Begovic returns from Istanbul with a haul of heroin inside her. After making a drop-off at the airport hotel, drugs squad swoop in and arrest her dealer, and a call from Aziz is found on her mobile phone, which she left at the scene. Ryman is convinced that Aziz would not be involved with the importation of drugs, and once again questions the prime suspect in his murder. Her search leads her to a dilapidated block of flats, where unknowing to her, she is about to come face to face with a crazed gunman.

166
"Flight - Part 2"
Graham Mitchell
Richard Senior
12 January 2016 (2016-01-12)
9.18

DCI Waite and the team realise that Jihadi martyr Zak Latif is still alive, and Jack's analysis of the scene of the shooting reveals him to be the gunman that shot DI Ryman. When Amir Aziz's brother is found dead of multiple stab wounds, a DNA analysis of the weapon used reveals that Latif is the dead man's son - and Amir Aziz's nephew. As the team attempt to work out the target of their suicide mission, Clarissa's analysis of dust samples found on the knife leads the team to a disused shop, which they discover is Sarah and Zak's hideout. Jack finds video footage, which indicates that the target of the attack is a conference centre right in the heart of London, which is playing host to an anti-fundamentalist MP who has previously campaigned to raise awareness of Jihadi terrorist cells.

167
"Life Licence - Part 1"
Tom Butterworth & Chris Hurford
Mark Everest
18 January 2016 (2016-01-18)
9.11

When ex-convict David Sellars is found brutally murdered in his home, suspicion immediately lands on a recently released murderer, Joe Sheringham (Toby Wharton), whom Sellars became friends with whilst in prison. However, Jack later finds evidence relating to the crime in the bathroom of warden Ryan White, but he claims to have found the body after the killer had already struck. Meanwhile, Sheringham tries to apologize to the father of his victim, after finally realising that he will never escape from his former identity. Detective Superintendent Mitchall (Lloyd Owen) is then called out to the scene of a house fire. Sheringham's body is found inside the wreckage, having been stabbed before being set on fire. The father of his victim, Ted Blake, is found outside the property with severe burns.

168
"Life Licence - Part 2"
Tom Butterworth & Chris Hurford
Mark Everest
19 January 2016 (2016-01-19)
8.83

Ted Blake is exonerated of the murder of Joe Sheringham, but later dies in hospital from his injuries. Suspicion then falls on Bennett Walker, a friend of Sheringham and Sellars who attended the same Life Licence group, run by Sasha Blackburn (Lyndsey Marshal). When Bennett goes on the run after taking cocaine, the team assist in the search in the hope of finding him before he strikes again. However, Bennett has since worked out that his boss, Oliver Bright (Robert Whitelock), a fellow Life Licenser, has committed the murders to frame him. When he confronts Bright, Bright murders his own wife and once again frames Bennett for the killing. With Bright now out to kill his final conquest, the team must use Bennett's knowledge of his crazed boss to find him before he takes another life.

169
"In Plain Sight - Part 1"
Matthew Arlidge & Tracey Malone
Keith Boak
25 January 2016 (2016-01-25)
8.90

Teenager Helena Lubas is mistakenly shot dead by the firearms unit during a confrontation with a known gun-runner, Shaun Dyer. In an attempt to cover up their mistake, the unit frame Lubas by placing a gun in her hand. Later, a witness to the incident, Karim Benzel, is found shot dead, having been tortured. The weapon used is found nearby, and is linked to a known gangster, Nuri Saykir. Meanwhile, with the IPCC crawling over the investigation, Jack begins to notice that evidence gathered in the Lubas investigation doesn't add up. When the home address of one of the firearms officers is posted online, Helena's brother Bruno decides to his exact his revenge. Later, firearms officer Jo Keating is found dead, having been shot several times. But is Bruno really responsible for murder, or has he been elaborately framed by the real killer?

170
"In Plain Sight - Part 2"
Matthew Arlidge & Tracey Malone
Keith Boak
26 January 2016 (2016-01-26)
8.84

As the investigation into Jo Keating's murder continues, Nikki establishes that she may have been attacked twice - and that the first bullet that was fired was the one which proved fatal. Meanwhile, Bruno Lubas' sister Julia manages to track him down, and offers him £5,000 and a fake passport to disappear - but seconds later, he is shot at the wheel of his car. DI Lawrence Cooke (Neil Stuke) confronts a young girl whose DNA is found on the gun used to kill Benzel, and at the scene of Helena Lubas' murder. She confirms Benzel's story that the firearms unit framed Helena and that she was unarmed at the time of her death. Jack realises that the gun found in Bruno Lubas' car was not the one which he saw him leave with before the shooting of Jo Keating, but a search of the firearms unit's headquarters reveals the shocking identity of the killer.

171
"River's Edge - Part 1"
Ed Whitmore
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
1 February 2016 (2016-02-01)
9.00

When a couple are killed at a riverside picnic, the Lyell team investigate the father of the woman's son, who fell in the river and drowned running from the shooting. D.I. Sally Butcher (Sally Carman) is determined to nail the father, but another detective on the verge of retirement, D.C.I. Malcolm Guillam (Derek Griffiths), realises the case resembles an incident ten years previously. Nikki and Jack help him investigate a theory that there was a fourth person being shot at, but soon find themselves out of their depth and faced with a trained killer.

172
"River's Edge - Part 2"
Ed Whitmore
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
2 February 2016 (2016-02-02)
8.96

Nikki and Jack find themselves hunted following Guillam's murder, but when they apprehend the gunman, they realise he is only a bodyguard for the real mass murderer. To find out the truth, Nikki urges a young doctor, Amy (Elen Rhys), to expose the secrets of her youth, but it may be too late as the killer looks to get away with his crime.

text: Series 20 (2017)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
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Viewers
(millions)[12]

173
"Identity - Part 1"[46]
Timothy Prager
Stewart Svaasand
2 January 2017 (2017-01-02)
8.92

The team are drawn into the murky world of illegal immigration when they are asked to analyse a lone, single severed finger which has been sent to asylum seeker Akka Khoury. She suspects the finger may belong to her mother, who is missing. As the team attempt to question the Khoury family, they decide to flee, injuring Nikki in the process. Meanwhile, Jack is called to investigate the suspected suicide of Jamal Al Sham, who supposedly jumped to his death from a skyscraper in the centre of London. As Jack and DI Paul Renick investigate, they discover Al Sham was involved in human trafficking - but a promising line of enquiry leads the team to make a gruesome discovery buried deep in nearby woodland.

174
"Identity - Part 2"[46]
Timothy Prager
Stewart Svaasand
3 January 2017 (2017-01-03)
8.93

As the team begin to examine the numerous bodies found in the abandoned van, Clarissa examines a number of mobile phones found with the victims - but unwittingly manages to send a number of undelivered text messages from the victims to the leader of the gang. Another member of the gang is found bludgeoned to death on a building site, leaving Jack and Nikki to wonder which member of the gang has been forced to turn on his own people. DCI Goodchild and DS Butler investigate a recently retired Customs officer whom they suspect is involved with allowing the trafficking vehicles through customs. As a second batch of refugees prepare to leave Calais, the team realise it's a race against time to save them, before they suffer the same fate.

175
"Discovery - Part 1"[47]
Ed Whitmore
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
9 January 2017 (2017-01-09)
9.31

Primary school teacher Lucy Chatham disappears one Saturday morning whilst cycling to meet a friend, and Jack and Nikki are called in by DCI Steemson (Darren Morfitt) to comb her house for forensic evidence. Meanwhile, Thomas is called by DS Steele (Saskia Reeves) to the scene of the death of a junkie, Tina Lunt, who is found on the banks of a river beneath a motorway bridge, with a screwdriver embedded in her sternum. As the evidence in both cases begins to collate, an unlikely form of corn starch, usually found in airbags, is discovered on the bodies of both victims - and Nikki, Thomas and Jack begin to suspect they are working the same case.

176
"Discovery - Part 2"[47]
Ed Whitmore
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
10 January 2017 (2017-01-10)
9.19

Thomas' prime suspect in the Lunt murder, Wesley Beale, is found run over in the street. The team begin to realise that the killer is becoming more and more forensically aware. Evidence found in a dustbin leads the team to name a new prime suspect, Brett Porter (Steve John Shepherd), who was formerly tried, but acquitted, of the rape and murder of a 17 year old girl in Brighton in 1996. Suspecting that Lucy's death may be a similar act of revenge, the team set about proving Brett's guilt - but Brett's niece Jessica soon begins to realise that another member of her family may be the killer.

177
"Remembrance - Part 1"[48]
Graham Mitchell
David Richards
16 January 2017 (2017-01-16)
9.36

When the body of student Lorna Katz is pulled from the River Lea, DI Heather Ashton (Eva Pope) interrogates her ex-boyfriend, Kieran Vale, who denies being involved in her murder. Suspicion soon turns towards another former lover, Aaron Logan, who was also a former boyfriend of Ruth Tresize, another young girl who disappeared on New Year's Eve 2013 from the same location. Ruth's parents, Chris and Ali (Sarah Smart) approach Nikki for help, but despite Nikki's reluctance, Ali manages to extract information from her, which leads her to carry out an unexpected attack on Aaron Logan.

178
"Remembrance - Part 2"[48]
Graham Mitchell
David Richards
18 January 2017 (2017-01-18)[49]
8.60

As Jack and Clarissa try to decipher the final image taken on Lorna's phone before her death, DI Ashton attempts to locate the witness who saw Kieran Vale being murdered, in the hope that she can identify the perpetrator. Aaron Logan absconds from hospital, and enlists his brother Ben's help to try and prove his innocence. Jack is shocked to discover Ali's fingerprints in the boatyard where they suspect her daughter was buried, and it soon transpires that Ruth may have stumbled upon her mum's affair with Ben. As the killer's identity is finally revealed, Jack and Nikki begin the search for Ruth's body.

179
"Covenant - Part 1"[50]
Richard Davidson
David Drury
23 January 2017 (2017-01-23)
9.16

A seemingly routine road accident which results in the death of father and son Bill and Frankie McAteer soon proves to be nothing of the sort when Frankie is discovered to have been shot three times at close range. DCI Tony Underhill (Gary Beadle) suspects that Bill's brother, Tommy (Lee Ross), who has recently been released from prison for murder, may be responsible for the attack. However, Frankie's post mortem reveals that he also suffered severe injuries from a blunt force trauma just over three weeks ago. Clarissa's husband Max offers to help the team recover deleted data from Frankie's phone, and they find video evidence to suggest Frankie and his best friend Liam were involved in the rape of his ex-girlfriend, Becky.

180
"Covenant - Part 2"[50]
Richard Davidson
David Drury
24 January 2017 (2017-01-24)
8.99

With Liam Stanwell having become the second victim of the mysterious gunman, Clarissa examines further footage of the rape found on his phone and discovers that it contains additional material which confirms that Becky's best friend, Paul, was present at the scene. Meanwhile, Jack is surprised when the seemingly random stabbing of a deputy headteacher in West London is linked to the case through DNA evidence left by a third party at the scene of Liam's murder. Becky uncovers a laptop that Paul has tried to destroy, and hands it in to the police. Max manages to recover a series of forum messages from Paul to a fellow user, known only as 'Dreadnaut'. As the team race against time to uncover Dreadnaut's identity, Jack makes the final link in the chain.

181
"Awakening - Part 1"[51]
Dudi Appleton & Jim Keeble
Dudi Appleton
30 January 2017 (2017-01-30)
8.51

Nikki travels to Mexico following the disappearance of Lyell Centre intern Luisa in a suspected carjacking. After realising that the police are making little to no effort to find Luisa's body, Nikki teams up with project manager Dr. Eva Vasquez in an attempt to finally discover the truth. Back home, Thomas decides to send Jack to Mexico with one strict instruction - to bring Nikki home safely. However, he soon finds himself drawn into the case as Nikki and Eva find a mass grave containing six bodies. As Federal Police capture a cartel leader known as 'The Vulture' for his suspected involvement in the mass murders, Eva receives a stern warning to stay away from the case. And when Nikki later disappears, Eva is run down by a car.

182
"Awakening - Part 2"[51]
Dudi Appleton & Jim Keeble
Dudi Appleton
31 January 2017 (2017-01-31)
8.26

With time running out for Nikki, Jack has no choice but continue the investigation on his own. Nikki manages to make phone contact, but is unable to give Jack any clues as to her possible location. Jack receives a call offering Nikki's safe return in return for him busting The Vulture out of federal prison. Jack soon begins to realise, however, that his closest allies could in fact be his enemies. As he begins to suspect that Eva was involved in Nikki's abduction, he arranges the exchange with the Cartel, but soon realises that he has been double crossed. Nikki manages to provide Jack with a vital clue to a possible burial site, but when he finds the twenty missing farm workers and Luisa alive. Nikki finds her own way out of where she was hidden and runs down to the beach elated at being free.

text: Series 21 (2018)[edit]

text:
Episode
Title
Written by
Directed by
Original airdate
Viewers
(millions)[12]

183
"Moment of Surrender − Part One"
Ed Whitmore
Charles Palmer
8 January 2018 (2018-01-08)
9.41

Haunted by her experiences in Mexico, Nikki Alexander struggles to come to terms with life back home. While on leave, she seeks out fellow pathologist Sally Vaughan for support. However, a few days later and troubled by Sally's failure to return her calls, Nikki heads over to her house only to find that it has become a crime scene, and Sally is nowhere to be found. NCA Investigator Guy Bernhard tasks Nikki to help him by employing the chief suspect in Sally's disappearance, pathologist David Cannon (Julian Rhind-Tutt), at the Lyell. As a result and to Jack and Clarissa's surprise, Nikki returns to the Lyell early with David in tow. As Jack, Clarissa and Thomas share concerns about Nikki's wellbeing, a body is found in a reservoir, uncovering the mystery of a 16-year-old murder case.

184
"Moment of Surrender − Part Two"
Ed Whitmore
Charles Palmer
9 January 2018 (2018-01-09)
9.07

Nikki's suspicions about David Cannon are aroused further when she discovers blood in the boot of his car. With Thomas's support, she takes samples to process - does it belong to Sally Vaughn?
The uncovering of a family murder from the past shines the spotlight on three people who went to the same school.

185
"Duty of Candour − Part One"
Matthew Arlidge
Destiny Ekaragha
15 January 2018 (2018-01-15)
7.99

Nikki and Jack deal with their feelings post Mexico in very different ways. Jack is boxing with his sparring partner, DCI Naomi Silva when he is called to a crime scene. While Nikki is busy examining the body of a young woman Karen Sawyers, Jack is surprised to find the SIO on the case is Naomi Silva. The first prime suspect, Karen's husband Pete, is found coevered in blood and clearly suffering. The forensic evidence leads the team to a cosmetic clinic, where a pregnant Karen had been receiving various treatments seemingly free of charge. Nikki and Silva soon become frustrated when Simon Laing, the CEO of Hamilton Ashe hospital, blocks their access to Karen's medical records. However, when a second body is found and all evidence leads back to Hamilton Ashe, Laing is forced to help the team. Meanwhile, when Thomas's daughter Rosie unexpectedly turns up at the Lyell, Thomas has to deal with a more complex role... being a father.

186
"Duty of Candour − Part Two"
Matthew Arlidge
Destiny Ekaragha
16 January 2018 (2018-01-16)
7.62

Nikki comes face to face with CEO Simon Laing when it becomes apparent that the motive for the murders may have been blackmail. When the team find that the hospital computer database has been hacked, Clarissa and Max follow the forensic clues to a teenage hacker called Splinter. However the danger grows much closer to home when Nikki receives a threatening text with a picture of Thomas's daughter Rosie.

187
"A Special Relationship − Part One"
Graham Mitchell
Diarmuid Goggins
22 January 2018 (2018-01-22)
TBA

Diplomat Ryan Reed is watching the US ambassador on a late night current affairs show. But as he heads home he is seemingly targeted by a biker. Lead by SIO DCI Ben Solomon, the Lyell team arrive at the scene to find Reed's body posed - sitting upright on a bench with his hand tucked inside his jacket. An argument quickly ensues between the Police and the US Embassy staff, who claim the murder falls under their jurisdiction. The Lyell team fight against the bureaucracy of the FBI, aided only by the US Chief of Mission Matt Garcia. However when Matt goes missing, Nikki is disturbed. Might Matt be the next target?

188
"A Special Relationship − Part Two"
Graham Mitchell
Diarmuid Goggins
23 January 2018 (2018-01-23)
TBA

Nikki is still in shock when the team arrive at Matt's residence but, determined to help, she insists on returning to the Lyell. When analysing crime scene photos and the positions of the victims' bodies, Nikki quickly spots a pattern.

189
"One Day − Part One"
Timothy Prager
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
29 January 2018 (2018-01-29)
TBA

Two care home staff, Patrick Flannery and Tillie Maddox, burst out of Kingscote Bows Residential Care Home - a facility for those with physical disabilities - chasing resident Kevin McDowd. He is forcibly restrained as his friend Serena Prentice watches the scene from a window of the home. Meanwhile, Nikki and Jack arrive at the site of a car crash, where a female driver lost control of her car. There they meet PC Button, who is running the investigation and claims to know Nikki from a previous case. Forensic evidence links the driver of the car to the Kingscote Bows Residential Care Home - and Button realises that he may have to inform the next of kin of her death - Kevin. It becomes clear that things are not all they seem at Kingscote Bows. Believing that he must take matters into is own hands, Kevin escapes - and takes Serena with him, prompting a man hunt across London.

190
"One Day − Part Two"
Timothy Prager
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
30 January 2018 (2018-01-30)
TBA

Determined to find out the truth about Kingscote Bows, and unbeknownst to the rest of the Lyell team, Clarissa rents a room there. She is shocked to see the body of resident Dorothy Williams being removed when she had seemed fine just the day before. When the coast is clear Clarissa sneaks into Dorothy's old room to investigate - unknowingly putting herself in grave danger. Will her partner in crime Jack be able to rescue her in time?

191
"Family − Part One"
Michael Crompton
Colin Teague
5 February 2018 (2018-02-05)
TBA

It is Christmas morning and Nikki, is awaiting a call from Matt who is back in the States. Instead, she receives a call to say that the team is needed: a family has been massacred at an enormous property owned by Andy McMorris, the CEO of a haulage company. Greeted by SIO DI Gibbs, Nikki is first on the scene whilst Clarissa is connected to the action via screens and microphones back at the Lyell. Having left his father to celebrate Christmas without him, Jack is just arriving to join them when a gunshot suddenly rings out. With Gibbs lying on the floor with a life-threatening injury, the team realise that the shooter might still be on the grounds. Are they also in danger?

192
"Family − Part Two"
Michael Crompton
Colin Teague
7 February 2018 (2018-02-07)[11]
TBA

As the truth behind the McMorris family is revealed, the team is brought together by the conclusion of a shocking Christmas family tragedy. Reuniting with their respective families, Nikki finds her secret Santa gift is a visit from a loved one.

text: Series 22 (2019)[edit]

text: It was confirmed by script writer Michael Crompton that Silent Witness will return in 2019 for Series 22.[citation needed]