The BEST episodes of Silent Witness
Every episode of Silent Witness ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Silent Witness!
Forensic pathologists face personal and professional challenges in a moody, tense thriller that moves from the crime scene to the lab.
#1 - Coup de Grace (2)
Season 17 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/10/2014
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.
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#2 - In a Lonely Place (2)
Season 17 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/17/2014
Nikki, Jack and DS Ross are feeling the pressure to close the net on a serial killer abducting young women. Concerns increase about missing Sarah, and solving her mysterious disappearance becomes an urgent priority for the team.
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#3 - Bloodlines (2)
Season 14 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/25/2011
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.
#4 - Bloodlines (1)
Season 14 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/24/2011
Harry is reunited with Anna Sandor when she calls him to Budapest to perform a second post-mortem on the body of a drowned prostitute, Sofi Mustafova. As they get reacquainted, Anna tells him she believes the death is suspicious and may be linked to her own investigations into the disappearance of other pregnant prostitutes. The women's body ends up being cremated before Harry can take a look at it. Harry's world is crushed when he finds out that Anna has been stabbed to death in her bed. He is forced to go underground where he manages to make a desperate call to Leo in London for help when he becomes the number one suspect. Harry continues with the investigation into the gang-run prostitution racket. When Leo shows up late for the meeting with Harry he witnesses a man being shot and burned. When he manages to retrieve a charred passport from the body it turns out to be Harry's.
#5 - And Then I Fell in Love (2)
Season 15 - Episode 12 - Aired 8/20/2012
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?
#6 - Greater Love (2)
Season 16 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/8/2013
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.
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#8 - Fraternity (2)
Season 17 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/31/2014
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.
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#9 - Shadows (2)
Season 13 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/29/2010
Leo's postmortem of the victims reveals there were two guns used, and possibly a second shooter.
#10 - King’s Cross (2)
Season 27 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/13/2024
There are further twists ahead for Nikki, Jack and the team as they work with the police to explore multiple avenues to solve a 20-year-old case.
#11 - Two Below Zero (1)
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/12/2001
Sam is called in to identify the naked body of a woman uncovered on a ski slope in Norway.
#12 - Exodus 20:17 (2)
Season 28 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/7/2025
Benjamin continues his desperate search for Gloria. Nikki’s disturbing discovery joins the dots. A new team member joins the Lyell.
#13 - King’s Cross (1)
Season 27 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/12/2024
The Lyell are called to King's Cross Station Museum, where they discover the bodies of eight victims entombed below. With the knowledge that a prolific serial killer was operating in London nearly 20 years ago, Nikki and the team know this will be a case like no other.
#14 - Double Dare (2)
Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/18/2007
Nikki grows increasingly worried that a mistake she made on a case four years ago may have contributed to the murder of a young woman.
#15 - Peripheral Vision (2)
Season 11 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/25/2007
Having fallen out with both the police and Clara's family, Nikki finds herself increasingly alone in her search for the killer.
#16 - Shadows (1)
Season 13 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/28/2010
Nikki and Harry try to help wounded victims of a campus shooting while trapped in the building with the rampaging shoote
#17 - Legacy (2)
Season 16 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/1/2013
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.
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#18 - Family (2)
Season 21 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/7/2018
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.
#19 - Trust (2)
Season 16 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/18/2013
As the basement women case highlights two cooperating killers, Nikki, Jack and DI Reed realise one victim was killed by a controlled sedative, stolen from a high-tech vaccine research lab. And suspicion falls on Lucas Ballinger, a scientist who works there. Meanwhile, Leo draws a blank with his theory that Shona's baby died of natural causes, but when he discovers Mark's violent past, Leo fears Shona may have taken the rap for her partner's child abuse. Jack makes a chilling forensic breakthrough which exposes a dangerous plot to breach national security, leaving the Lyell Centre paralysed by a government-imposed lockdown. With Nikki, Jack and DI Reed locked in a race against time to find Ballinger and prevent mass casualties, Leo has one last shot at proving that Shona's baby died from natural causes in a desperate bid to reunite her and Mark with their other son before he is adopted.
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#21 - A Body of Work (2)
Season 10 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/31/2006
Leo is puzzled by the strange death of conceptual artist Jimmy Triangle.
#23 - Body 21 (2)
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/27/2004
Leo, Harry and Nikki step up their efforts to discover the truth behind the train crash but there are still many unanswered questions.
#24 - Terminus (1)
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/23/2006
The team investigates a hit-and-run accident, an arson and a woman who collapsed on her hen night.
#25 - History (5)
Season 25 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/6/2022
The death of an investigative journalist throws the spotlight on to Sam Ryan. Nikki begins to realise that the implications of her discoveries will challenge the principles of forensic science.