SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE


Silent Witness

Genres: Drama, Police Procedural
Broadcast on: SABC3, BBC Entertainment, BBC Prime, BBC First

Rate:

7.0

Add to Show Favourites

Broadcaster information
International channels
BBC One : 21 Feb 1996 - 04 Feb 2020

South African channels

BBC Prime : 03 Jan 2007 - 20 Jun 2007
BBC Entertainment : 02 Feb 2009 - 03 Apr 2015
BBC First : 19 Feb 2016 - 01 May 2020
SABC3 : 30 Dec 2024 - (ongoing)

About the Show

Silent Witness is a British crime thriller police procedural television series created by former murder squad detective Nigel McCrery and based on Professor Helen Witwell, a forensic pathologist whom McCrery had known while serving as a police officer, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes.

Every body tells a story: who they were, how they lived, and most importantly, how they died. Their history is there to be discovered and the body is the key to unlocking the story.

Each season the forensic pathology drama Silent Witness features a new batch of crimes for the team of pathologists to crack.

The show follows the fortunes of the pathologists as they are called on by police to help identify murder victims that have been too badly burned or decomposed to use standard identification methods.

For the first eight seasons the team was headed by forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton), who believes passionately in the dignity of the dead person, that the body before her was once a living human being.

She is determined to solve the mystery of how and why they died.

Never compromising in her pursuit of the truth, Sam investigates crimes and interviews witnesses herself if she is unhappy with the conclusions reached by the investigating officers.

Though this can result in friction, her tenacity, perceptiveness and needle-sharp brain get results and earn the respect of the police.

Since midway through Season 8 the team consists of Professor Leo Dalton (William Gaminara), a no-nonsense leader with years of experience in pathology; Dr. Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward), an incisive and logical scientist with a dry sense of humour; and Dr. Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), an idealistic expert in palaeontology who wears her heart on her sleeve.

Together, they combine their knowledge and abilities to solve complex crimes, using the latest forensic techniques in order to bring murderers and other violent criminals to justice.

Cast

The show was headlined for the first seven seasons by Amanda Burton in the role of Sam Ryan. She was joined in Season 6 by William Gaminara as Professor Leo Dalton and Tom Ward as Dr. Harry Cunningham.

Burton left the series midway through Season 8 and a new character, Dr. Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), filled the void left by her departure.

The series was headlined by Gaminara, Ward and Fox thereafter until Season 15, after which Ward left the show. New actors David Caves and Liz Carr joined the cast for Season 16 and they were joined in Season 17 by Richard Lintern, when Gaminara left the show.

Broadcast Notes

The series began life in South Africa on BBC Prime, although broadcast dates for the first six seasons are not available. BBC Prime became defunct in 2008 and was replaced by BBC Entertainment, which took over first-run rights to the show. BBC Entertainment was replaced by BBC First in 2015.


Starring

as
Sam Ryan

as
Dr. Trevor Stewart

as
Professor Leo Dalton

as
Dr. Harry Cunningham

as
Dr. Nikki Alexander

as
Clarissa Mullery

as
Jack Hodgson

as
Dr. Thomas Chamberlain


Latest Articles

New on TV today: Friday 28 February

28 Feb 2020 | Written by: Shows Editor | From: New Shows and Seasons
Buzzy spy thriller Queen Sono drops on Netflix and police drama Silent Witness returns to BBC First.


New on TV today: Friday 8 February

08 Feb 2019 | Written by: Shows Editor | From: New Shows and Seasons
Lip Sync Battle comes to SABC1, the latest Idols returns to Wethu and a new Silent Witness starts on BBC First.


SAFTA-winning actress Shoki Mokgapa dies at 34

26 Sep 2018 | Written by: TVSA Team | From: News | 4 comments
Our TV screens have lost another life...


LATEST ARTICLES

Lord of the Skies 9 Teasers - January 2025

Aurelio Casillas joins the sexual adventure and returns home.


New on TV today: Wednesday 11 December 2024

The UK version of Celebrity MasterChef 6 begins on S3 and Queer Eye returns to Netflix.


Mzansi Magic announces titles, scenarios for 2025 original series

We can breathe. No 1Max vibez going on here thankfully. See the channel's first quarter new series.


Suidooster Teasers - January 2025

Down with fakeness! It's a new year and Angie's tired of pretending. She hatches a plan to reveal the truth...


New on TV today: Tuesday 10 December 2024

Prime Video opens up a Secret Level and two sports docuseries drop on Netflix.


Smoke & Mirrors and Isitha hookup in festive season crossover event

Who got talent? Characters from the two shows compete, with one getting lusty.


Scandal! Teasers - January 2025

It's New Year, but the ghosts of his past sins haunt Tiro. Also: Layla and Cohen's big day finally arrives.


New on TV today: Monday 9 December 2024

Rich Listers sell luxury property on Home Channel and a Celebrate with Lorna special airs on S3.


New on TV today: Sunday 8 December 2024

The Roast of Pearl Thusi airs on Comedy Central as Strange Creatures take over S3.


New on TV today: Saturday 7 December 2024

Two new shows begin on eReality as Discovery investigates Destinations of The Damned.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS





×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.