Silent Witness

Silent Witness
Title card (2015–2017)
GenreCrime drama
Created byNigel McCrery
StarringAmanda Burton
John McGlynn
Clare Higgins
William Armstrong
Ruth McCabe
Mick Ford
Nick Reding
Mark Letheren
William Gaminara
Tom Ward
Emilia Fox
David Caves
Liz Carr
Richard Lintern
Jason Wong
Genesis Lynea
Aki Omoshaybi
Alastair Michael
Rhiannon May
Theme music composerGeoffrey Burgon (s. 1)
John Harle (s. 2–present)
ComposersGeoffrey Burgon (s. 1)
John Harle (s. 2–7)
Paul Leonard-Morgan (s. 8)
Sheridan Tongue (s. 9–20)
Jon Opstad (s. 16)
Andy Price (s. 21–23)
Nick Holywell-Walker (s. 24–25)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series27
No. of episodes248 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersCaroline Oulton (s. 1–3)
Patrick Spence (s. 4)
Mike Dormer (s. 5)
Jessica Pope (s. 6–9)
Laura Mackie (s. 6–9)
Hilary Salmon (s. 10–11, 19)
Phillippa Giles (s. 12–18)
Anne Pivcevic (s. 19–20)
Richard Stokes (s. 21–23)
Lawrence Till (s.24–25)
Priscilla Parish (s. 24–26)
Caroline Levy (s.24–25)
Emilia Fox (s.24–27)
Ed Whitmore (s.25)
Suzi McIntosh (s.26-27)
ProducersTony Dennis (s. 1)
Alison Lumb (s. 2)
Anne Pivcevic (s. 3)
Lars Macfarlane (s. 4)
Diana Kyle (s. 5)
Nick Pitt (s. 6–8)
Tim Bradley (s. 9–10)
George Ormond (s. 11–12)
Ruth Kenley-Letts (s. 13)
Richard Burrell (s. 14–ep. 15.2)
Mat Chaplin (ep. 15.3)
Lachlan Mackinnon (ep. 15.4–15.6)
Sharon Bloom (s. 16–18)
Madonna Baptiste (s. 19)
Ceri Meyrick (s. 20)
Running time50 minutes (s. 1–5)
60 minutes (s. 6–present)
Production companyBBC Studios Drama Productions
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release21 February 1996 (1996-02-21) –
present
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Silent Witness is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squad detective based in Nottingham. Twenty-seven series of Silent Witness have been broadcast since 1996, with series 27 airing in January/February 2024.[1]

Amanda Burton starred as primary character Dr. Sam Ryan before leaving the show during the eighth series. Since her departure, the series has featured an ensemble cast, which initially consisted of William Gaminara, Tom Ward and Emilia Fox, and later on David Caves, Liz Carr and Richard Lintern alongside Emilia Fox. At the end of series 23, Carr and Lintern departed. The cast was joined by Genesis Lynea from series 24,[1] who departed at the end of series 25. Series 26 saw Aki Omoshaybi, Rhiannon May and Alistair Michael join the regular cast.[2]

The programme is broadcast in more than 235 territories,[2] including ABC in Australia,[3] Showcase and the Knowledge Network in Canada, KRO in the Netherlands, TV One[4] and Prime[5] in New Zealand, BBC First in South Africa and BBC America in the United States. Silent Witness continues to achieve good audience ratings in the UK.

  1. ^ a b Lambon, Nick (20 May 2022). "Celebrating Silent Witness 25 with Ten Memorable Episodes". BBC - Writers' Room. BBC. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "BBC – Silent Witness – Media Centre".
  3. ^ "Silent Witness". ABC Television.
  4. ^ tvnz.co.nz/silent-witness/show-432523
  5. ^ "Drama".