Silent Witness reaches its 25th series on Monday 23rd May at 9pm on BBC One. To celebrate, the show's producer has selected ten memorable episodes that illustrate the variety of storytelling over the past quarter-century. The scripts for these episodes are available in the BBC Writersroom online script library, with introductions by the writers.
The 25th series breaks the long-established format to tell one six-hour story titled 'History'. This marks the first time that Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton) and Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) share the screen together, and exposes the personal histories of Nikki, Jack and Simone as never before.
Among the chosen episodes is the very first, Series 1 Episode 1 'Buried Lies', which introduced Sam Ryan, a character based on forensic pathologist Professor Helen Whitwell. Another is Series 6's 'Fallout', where a severed arm found at a traffic accident scene sets the team on a complex case. Series 8's episodes, written by Michael Crompton, were inspired by the Kings Cross Fire and the unidentified 'Body 115'.
The producer notes that the show's success may stem from the perennial appeal of crime drama, the evolving forensic landscape, or the strong characters such as Sam Ryan, the bond between Nikki and Jack, and Clarissa's humour. With over 200 episodes since 1996, Silent Witness is on the cusp of being the longest-running crime drama in the world.
