Wait till you WITNESS THIS

Forensic thriller Silent Witness celebrates its 25th series (yes, really!) and the return of first star Amanda Burton

SILENT WITNESS

Monday & Tuesday, BBC1, 9pm

February 21, 1996: John Major is Prime Minister and Babylon Zoo are at No1 with Spaceman. Meanwhile, curious primetime viewers are checking out a new drama thriller starring Amanda Burton as Sam Ryan, the leader of a team of forensic pathology experts bringing murderers to justice.

Almost immediately, Silent Witness proves to be hugely popular with viewers and critics alike, thanks to its solid cast, high production values and intelligently crafted scripts. That has proved a formula for ratings success and longevity (it has been sold to more countries than even Midsomer Murders), helped by a starry turnover of actors, with Burton leaving in the eighth series, shortly before the arrival of Emilia Fox as Dr Nikki Alexander (top, far left, with Burton), now the longest-serving member of the cast.

This week the BBC1 hit – the longestrunning crime drama currently airing in the world – reaches the ‘silver anniversary’ of its 25th season, and to mark the occasion, Burton comes back to reprise the role she originally played.

As the new six-part series begins, the saga comes full circle with a line of dialogue that will thrill dedicated fans, when Ryan picks up the phone in a moment of desperation and utters the words: ‘It’s Professor Sam Ryan, Nikki. I need your help.’

Since leaving her forensic pathology career, Ryan has set up a medical data company with her husband Jomo (former Casualty star Hugh Quarshie). After they win a major government contract, all seems set fair for the future – until, at the public announcement of the deal, he is left wounded and the Health Secretary is shot dead by a sniper.

The stakes couldn’t be higher as Dr Alexander starts digging into the case and it becomes apparent that

Ryan may not have been entirely truthful with her old team. The once unthinkable suspicion grows: could it be that the previously utterly dependable heroine is now not to be trusted?

Meanwhile, there’s another question: after sparks of romance flew between Dr Alexander and hunky colleague Jack Hodgson (David

Caves, left with Genesis Lynea) in the previous season, will the two embark on a proper relationship? Whatever the answer to these burning questions, one thing’s for sure: the viewers’ love affair with Silent Witness shows no signs of fading.