The BEST Episodes of Silent Witness
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Sep 29, 2019
Network: BBC One
Silent Witness originally followed the work of forensic pathologist Dr. Sam Ryan, played by Amanda Burton. In 2004, Burton left the series and Nikki Alexander, played by Emilia Fox, joined Dr. Leo Dalton (William Gaminara) and Dr. Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward) on the forensic pathology team. The series was created by an ex-police officer, Nigel McCrery.
#1 - Betrayal (2)
Season 22 - Episode 10
When Thomas sides against her findings on a controversial case, Nikki suspects foul play and takes steps to prove her theory. Jack and Clarissa follow a forensic trail connecting a dead researcher with a billionaire scientist and a secret testing programme.
8.08 
#2 - Greater Love (2)
Season 16 - Episode 10
Nikki, Jack and Leo struggle to identify the human remains with only sections of skeleton found and basic forensic facilities, but believe Dan Lambert must have been captured by the Taliban, executed and buried. Whilst Leo grows closer to charity worker Fawzia, Nikki and Jack find and assemble the skull fragments and make an unnerving discovery that challenges their theory of what happened to Dan Lambert. However, when an imprisoned Taliban fighter is found dead in the compound, the team suspect he was murdered, and suspicions grow about Sean Nugent and his men's treatment of prisoners. No longer able to trust anyone, the increasingly isolated team doggedly piece together the circumstances surrounding Dan Lambert's disappearance, but the shocking truth triggers a chain of events which leaves everyone's lives in danger.
7.97 
#3 - Family (2)
Season 21 - Episode 10
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.
7.88 
#4 - Awakening (2)
Season 20 - Episode 10
A frantic Jack carries out forensic examinations on the spot where Nikki disappeared. With Thomas at the airport ready to come out and help, but still 24 hours away and no leads left to follow, Jack receives a text message containing a mysterious phone number. However when Jack calls through, expecting to hear from Nikki's captors, he is shocked at who answers the phone. Last in the series
7.85 
#5 - Lift Up Your Hearts (2)
Season 22 - Episode 4
When a gang of dealers recruit young men to push spice and fentanyl near a London school, head teacher Noah Taylor has no choice but to confront them. DI Kate Ashton leads the police investigation, and as well as tracking down those responsible for the recent deaths, Ashton also seems keen to pursue the possibility of a relationship with Jack. When the pair search a suspect's flat, Jack gets caught up in a rising tide of violence, which culminates in several deaths. Nikki, Thomas, Jack and Clarissa must work to find those responsible before it's too late.
7.84 
#6 - Betrayal (1)
Season 22 - Episode 9
Nikki is humiliated in court when a barrister accuses her of making a serious error in the case of a policeman who may or may not have been murdered. The team investigates the death of a medical researcher found in a canal with mysterious puncture marks on his body.
7.82 
#7 - Death Maker (2)
Season 22 - Episode 8
While the team searches for the killer, Jack works alongside an old friend who has dedicated her life to exposing the suspected organisation. They realise they have uncovered a complex conflict sustained by ties of loyalty, family and retribution.
7.82 
#8 - Fraternity (2)
Season 17 - Episode 10
Jack's world has been blown apart following the discovery of Hannah's dead body. Nikki manages to find out the truth behind Jack and Ryan's strained relationship. Thomas thinks about hiring forensic scientist Helen as Jack's permanent replacement. Christy Nash is scared for the future of his marriage and business after DI Carter finds out abouts of his relationship with 15-year-old Katie.
7.80 
#9 - Lift Up Your Hearts (1)
Season 22 - Episode 3
After a teenage boy is killed in a meth lab explosion, his inspirational head teacher Noah Taylor resolves to confront the drug dealers preying on his community. Dangerous batches of new drugs are hitting the streets, and the effects are evident to Nikki, Jack, Clarissa, and Thomas as they deal with the rise in both violent and accidental deaths linked to the narcotics, while tragedy strikes at the heart of the Taylor family.
7.79 
#10 - Covenant (2)
Season 20 - Episode 8
Examining the contents of Liam's phone, Clarissa has found a longer version of the video and sees a flash of Paul's face as he peers from the stairs. Retrieving Paul's laptop, Clarissa takes it to Max's lab and finds reams of communication between Paul and another person, under pseudonyms, which starts to unravel the mystery of the Billingsgate killings. Meanwhile, Clarissa is amused to see Thomas' nose put out of joint and Jack soon feels paranoid that Max is poaching Clarissa for his own lab. Will Clarissa remain with the Lyell team?
7.79 
#11 - To Brighton, to Brighton (1)
Season 22 - Episode 5
During a heatwave in Brighton, the Lyell team is summoned to a waste dump where a body part has been found. The search is on to recover the other dismembered remains and piece together the victim's body, which is covered in intricate Japanese tattoos. Nikki has some news that she desperately wants to share with Matt, but must wait until he visits from America.
7.79 
#12 - Coup de Grace (2)
Season 17 - Episode 4
Thomas is under increased pressure from DI Rachel Klein and the Home Office as he battles to save the Lyell Centre's reputation. Peter Masham makes an unlikely deal with Bennetto's brother-in-law. Jack and Clarissa finally uncover the true identity of murder victim Byron Lee.
7.79 
#13 - And Then I Fell in Love (2)
Season 15 - Episode 12
Harry and Nikki make a crucial connection between the dead girls and sex-grooming victim Shannon, but is it too late for Hannah and Lauren?
7.78 
#14 - Legacy (2)
Season 16 - Episode 8
Whilst Nikki and Jack close the net on Brian Blackburn's troubled son for murdering his co-worker at the eco-housing project, Leo finally finds someone willing to confirm his fear about the mysterious local health hazard. But when his would-be-informant is found murdered, Leo is convinced he was the victim of a government conspiracy to conceal the truth. And during his dogged efforts to expose the cause of the health hazard, Leo begins to suspect that Nikki's new man, science minister James Embleton, and his belligerent father, may be linked to a ruthless plot to silence him, which leaves Leo battling alone to seek justice and save future lives.
7.77 
#15 - Death Maker (1)
Season 22 - Episode 7
A shocking incident on a suburban street brings back painful memories for Jack, forcing him to revisit his past. As a member of the victim's family seeks justice of their own, forensic evidence discovered by the Lyell suggests the involvement of a Northern Irish terrorist group, long-thought inactive.
7.77 
#16 - To Brighton, to Brighton (2)
Season 22 - Episode 6
With the remains of a second tattooed victim appearing in a Brighton recycling plant, it seems the Lyell team is on the trail of a serial killer. Working closely with local detectives DI Taramelli and DS Quicke, they must painstakingly piece together the evidence, and unearth the connections between a diverse range of suspects.
7.76 
#17 - Sniper's Nest (2)
Season 18 - Episode 2
DCI De Freitas’s expertise in victim and killer profiling is used to help narrow down the suspects as she contains her undercurrent of animosity with Drake.
7.73 
#18 - Trust (1)
Season 16 - Episode 3
The case of two young women shot dead in a house basement forces Jack to lock horns with an old flame, the ambitious DI Chrissy Reed. As the pair's animosity rapidly escalates due to their conflicting motive theories and failure to ID the victims, Nikki's probing unearths the potentially career-damaging truth behind it. Meanwhile, Leo wrestles with providing a second post-mortem on a baby suspected of being abused and smothered to death by his mother, Shona. The father, Mark, is adamant she is innocent. He pleads with Leo to find an alternative cause for their son's fractures and death to free his wife before their other son, Darius, is adopted. However, Leo soon realises that to achieve this he must re-examine the work of his pathologist friend, Richard Fell, and prove he made a mistake in his evidence against Shona.
7.71 
#19 - Identity (2)
Season 20 - Episode 2
When Nikki, Jack and Thomas make a horrific discovery in the van, they are confronted with the work of a killer who preys on illegal immigrants. With the help of Clarissa, they must work out where the killer will strike next before more vulnerable people meet the same fate.
7.70 
#20 - Commodity (2)
Season 17 - Episode 2
Isaac Dreyfus fights to prove his innocence, whilst Adam Freedman turns to a mysterious source for help get revenge for the murder of his wife and child. Nikki questions the motive behind the murders and a re-examination of the Freedman crime scene leads Jack to make a shocking discovery.
7.70 
#21 - One Day (2)
Season 21 - Episode 8
The team are determined to uncover the truth about unexplained deaths of patients at a care home. They are desperate to rescue Serena and return her to safety. Unbeknownst to her colleagues in the Lyell Centre, Clarissa allows herself to be admitted to the care home in order to investigate. Her determination to find out what happened at the care home leads her to uncover a shocking truth, but puts her life in danger.
7.70 
#22 - Legacy (1)
Season 16 - Episode 7
Nikki and Jack are under pressure when a teenager's remains halt an eco-housing project, while Leo is trapped in a dangerous hospital siege as distraught Tom Hancock holds a ward at gunpoint to turn off his terminally ill son's life support. Leo agrees to do his son's post-mortem to diffuse the situation, and becomes embroiled in Tom's quest for the truth behind his son's cancerous tumours. When Leo discovers that Tom's son had the same kidney disorder as the housing project victim, he suspects a dangerous local health hazard. Far from convinced, Nikki enjoys a whirlwind romance with charismatic science minister James Embleton, the eco-housing project owner, despite his belligerent father's discomfort. New construction site evidence leads Jack to builder Brian Blackburn, with suspicion falling on his son, who has sudden behavioural problems. And as Leo's investigation into a health hazard hits another barrier, he becomes convinced he is onto a cover up.
7.70 
#23 - Bloodlines (2)
Season 14 - Episode 8
Nikki makes her way to Budapest but there's not much she or Leo can do as every move they make is being watched by Tibor Orban. Leo manages to secretly meet Nikki where he reveals that Harry is still alive. Harry explains why he had to fake his own death and continues that he must find out why Anna was killed and unravel the dark secret of the prostitution racket.
7.69 
#24 - Covenant (1)
Season 20 - Episode 7
Father and son Bill and Frankie McAteer are killed in a horrific car accident on their way home from work at Billingsgate Market. Nikki and Jack arrive at the scene of the crash to meet DS Jodie Tanner, and to discover Frankie's body still in the car but riddled with bullets. Whoever was driving the SUV had a gun. Back at the Lyell centre, Nikki's post mortem examinations suggest that Frankie was the target, rather than Bill. Clarissa and Max discover a deleted video on a mobile phone showing a sexual encounter between Frankie, his girlfriend Becky and best friend Liam, which was posted on a revenge porn website. However when Liam is also killed, the video becomes the key to the killings. When Nikki and Tanner visit Becky, her flatmate Paul enters and she bursts into tears about the murder. But Paul looks like he has worries of his own… Meanwhile, Clarissa's husband Max is an expert in the fast-developing field of digital forensics and lends some equipment to help crack Frankie's seemingly-empty phone, his arrival causing an icy reaction from both Thomas and Jack.
7.68 
#25 - Commodity (1)
Season 17 - Episode 1
Premiership footballer Isaac Dreyfus finds his career in tatters after a sex tape links him to the brutal murder of a young woman, threatening to destroy both his reputation and marriage. He is desperate to prove his innocence, while Adam Freedman turns to a mysterious source for help to avenge the murder of his wife and child. Nikki finds it hard to deal with Leo’s death following the arrival of the new Lyell Centre boss, pathologist Thomas Chamberlain.
7.68