Silent Witness

1996
4.7
167 reviews
Eligible
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Seasons 1- 10 episodes (78)

1 Buried Lies, Pt. 1
2/21/96
Season-only
Dr Sam Ryan investigates the deaths of two children, each of whom have a connection with the same violent man.
2 Buried Lies, Pt. 2
2/22/96
Season-only
Sam confronts investigators with new information. Although initially met with incredulity, it results in a Kim's body being exhumed to see if the injuries to both girls are similar.
3 Long Days, Short Nights, Pt. 1
2/28/96
Season-only
A badly decomposed body bears all the signs of a ritualistic killing. Sam follows the clues into the world of the occult.
4 Long Days, Short Nights, Pt. 2
3/6/96
Season-only
Sam goes to Bird's girlfriend Fran, the one person who can explain what has been going on. Fran discloses that there had been a fifth friend, leading to a pivotal revelation.
5 Darkness Visible, Pt. 1
3/13/96
Season-only
A man's death while in police custody appears to be an open and shut case, before Sam receives a letter that casts fresh doubts.
6 Darkness Visible, Pt. 2
3/20/96
Season-only
Sam cannot state for certain whether PC Johns committed suicide or whether he fell, and investigating officers are beginning to believe that something is being covered up. Sam receives a suspicious package in the post and the bomb squad are called in.
7 Sins of the Fathers, Pt.1
3/27/96
Season-only
A student asks Sam for personal advice over her arranged marriage. But when tragedy strikes, Sam's professional expertise is required.
8 Sins of the Fathers, Pt.2
4/3/96
Season-only
Vietnamese refugee Tran tells the harrowing story of her family's nightmare journey across the South China Seas. The complex story of the guilt and fatherhood ends in tragedy, and forces Sam to face some of her own demons concerning her father.
9 Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Pt. 1
2/14/97
Season-only
Young boxer Kevin Sharma drives his car onto a building site. He drags his bruised body out of a skip, leaving Tony Kennedy, the man he knocked down, inside. Jack Reeve and promoter Keith Jones are hosting a match where Sharma is topping the bill, but he dies in the ring. Everyone is interested in the gym where Sharma trained. The police agree Sharma’s death is suspicious. An investigation begins.
10 Blood, Sweat, and Tears , Pt. 2
2/21/97
Season-only
The investigation widens. Sam realizes that Terri’s death could not have been suicide. The gym is in turmoil, until Keith Jones comes in, declaring he will take over St Paul’s, look after Terry and bring in a new trainer. Ross is convinced Jones is not the man he pretends to be and Sam is sure she can place him at Terri’s death. Sam goes back to the body, searching for the clue she needs.
11 Cease Upon the Midnight, Pt. 1
2/28/97
Season-only
Mark Tate realizes that he’s entering the final stages of AIDS. Another AIDS sufferer, Stuart Evans, throws a birthday party, but is dead the next day. Sam conducts an autopsy and sees that someone injected Evans’ foot with diamorphine. Evans’ consultant, Dr de Groot, says Mark Tate, another patient, also died recently. Ross orders the exhumation of Mark’s body and discovers a link between them.
12 Cease Upon the Midnight, Pt. 2
3/7/97
Season-only
The hunt is on for Craig Tate. He was at Evans’ party, had an argument with his brother and the police found a picture of Mark smashed and covered in blood at his home. Why kill men in the final stages of an illness? Could it have been mercy killing? Sam realizes the evidence leads to one conclusion. At the church, Rev. Duffy is found dead.
13 Only The Lonely, Pt. 1
3/21/97
Season-only
Ross is looking at cold cases when Helen Matthews’ body is found. Her murder is similar to one a year ago. Everything points to her husband Mike, an airfield manager. Everyone in the office knew about Alan, his Senior Flying Instructor, and Helen’s affair. It is discovered that Helen and Alan were planning to run off. Sam and Ross get time together, but Sam leaves unsure of their relationship.
14 Only The Lonely, Pt. 2
3/28/97
Season-only
The police are convinced that Matthews is responsible for his wife’s death, until someone points to an old case, where a man was killed in the same way as Alan. Sam reexamines the bodies and discovers a faint bruise. The suspect must have a sixth finger. The hunt for Carolyn begins. Determined to get Alan back, Carolyn confronts Sam, demanding at knifepoint that she release Alan’s body.
15 Friends Like These, Pt. 1
4/4/97
Season-only
When an elderly woman is beaten to death on a rundown inner-city estate, suspicion falls upon a local alcoholic with a history of violence. But Sam has little forensic evidence and the details of how Millicent sustained her injuries have been shielded. Sam sees the boys who discovered the body playing, re-creating with sugar teeth the exact details of the crime: details only the perps would know.
16 Friends Like These, Pt. 2
4/11/97
Season-only
The following day, Sam reports to Ross and Selway what she saw, but they are skeptical. Sam puts her job on the line to prove that this crime was committed by two 15-year-olds. Sam’s conduct is the talk of the station. Ross is torn between his feelings and professional responsibilities. Appalled that Sam pursued her theory and jeopardized the case he was building, he reports her to the Coroner.
17 An Academic Exercise, Pt. 1
3/19/98
Season-only
A murder at a Cambridge college leads Sam into professional, emotional and physical danger. Dr Annabelle Evans, a close friend of Sam and a lecturer, is found murdered. New detectives Connor and Bradley suspect Annabelle’s husband. But when Connor realizes that Sam knows the victim, he is understandably concerned. Sam’s certainties are tested as she discovers confusing forensic evidence.
18 An Academic Exercise, Pt. 2
3/26/98
Season-only
A student is murdered and the police suspect it is the same person who killed Annabelle Evans. Sam is too close to the case and her emotion is clouding her judgement.She and Trevor deduce that Annabelle’s body was likely frozen, dressed, moved and smeared with animal blood. It is as if the killer is testing Sam. A clever and extremely dangerous killer may well be setting his sights on Sam herself.
19 Fallen Idol, Pt. 1
4/2/98
Season-only
Hidden secrets in a suburban, middle-class family come to light when a 17-year-old girl is found murdered. Gemma Boyd, a trainee estate agent, is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in an empty house. Mysterious calls are logged to her office and home. As the police and Sam investigate, dark truths about the family are brought to light.
20 Fallen Idol, Pt. 2
4/9/98
Season-only
When Suzy Franklin’s first husband turns up on her doorstep after being released from prison, she greets him with a knife. The police are convinced that Boyd killed his daughter, Gemma. Sam has her own theory about what really happened, but it seems that the police are no nearer finding Gemma’s killer. Who killed Gemma? A man from her past, an unknown stalker or someone closer to home?
21 Divided Loyalties, Pt. 1
4/15/98
Season-only
Sam is called to an apartment where Maggie Collins and her baby are found dead. Weeks later, an explosion kills a local drug dealer. Sam thinks the cases are linked, but her theory is dismissed. Sam continues her investigation, leading her to Andy Fox, a small-time drug dealer. But Sam discovers Fox’s secret and his suspicions about Maggie’s death.
22 Divided Loyalties, Pt. 2
4/16/98
Season-only
Fox believes his attackers were officers. Does Sam realize her investigation could point to police corruption? When a second dealer is murdered, the police think it’s vigilante work. But Sam proves a link leading her to a doctor with a secret past, a corrupt rehabilitation worker and finally DCI Hoskins. Is the murderer someone who knew Maggie or someone covering up their involvement in her death?
23 Brothers in Arms, Pt. 1
4/23/98
Season-only
An accident leads Sam to investigate the army cover-up of a murder in Northern Ireland in 1985. When Phil Nelson dies after a fall, Sam thinks it’s accidental. But a tip points her to evidence that it was murder. Connor suspects Owen Johnson, former soldier. Then Ian Neal, who served with Owen, is murdered. Forensics proves it was Ian who sent the tip. Was he trying to tell Sam about a past crime?
24 Brothers in Arms, Pt. 2
4/30/98
Season-only
Sam continues her investigations into 2 suspicious deaths. But will Sam solve the crimes of the past and present before a deadly revenge is enacted? What’s the connection between the dead soldier and an Army killing in 1985? Sam’s investigations take her another death which links Owen Johnson and Ian Neal to another soldier with useful friends and a determination that the past will remain buried.
25 Gone Tomorrow, Pt. 1
5/31/99
Season-only
A helicopter crash kills 16 people at a gas rig. Professor Ryan and her team try to put the pieces of the jigsaw together to discover why this tragedy happened.
26 Gone Tomorrow, Pt. 2
5/31/99
Season-only
All Sam's skills are required when 10 more bodies are recovered from the North Sea. The discovery that a new rotor bolt was fitted to the crash helicopter recently and that the files are not up-to-date raises more questions. Who supplied and fitted the parts, and who signed them off?
27 A Kind of Justice, Pt. 1
6/8/99
Season-only
A small-time criminal is the prime suspect in a gangland murder. Sam Ryan believes he may be innocent.
28 A Kind of Justice, Pt. 2
6/9/99
Season-only
Sam is confused by DI Stuart Lightfoot's insistence that McNally's death was suicide. McNally's daughter is convinced that her father would never kill himself, whatever pressure he was under, and approaches Sam for support. Only a second post-mortem may prove the truth.
29 A Good Body, Pt. 1
6/15/99
Season-only
Sam searches for the identity of a victim of a cinema fire. A medical artist helps her reconstruct the face, but the result causes some embarrassment for the police.
30 A Good Body, Pt. 2
6/16/99
Season-only
Having learned that violent criminal Chris Caldwell may have been wrongly convicted for murder, Sam and DCI Michael Connor are eager to get at the truth - Sam more than Connor.
31 The World Cruise, Pt. 1
12/11/00
Season-only
Sam uncovers the dark history behind a series of murders while investigating the deaths of two elderly brothers.
32 The World Cruise, Pt. 2
12/12/00
Season-only
Sam carries out her own investigation on Wein's body and unearths new evidence which prompts Ranjeet to dig further into the lives of the brothers. He makes some surprising discoveries which hark back to the brutalities of the Second World War and the Nazi concentration camps.
33 Two Below Zero, Pt. 1
2/12/01
Season-only
The bodies of two missing girls are discovered in Norway. Although 15 years separate their cases, Sam discovers a disturbing link.
34 Two Below Zero, Pt. 2
2/13/01
Season-only
When the body of another young girl is found in a freezer at the Hutton's estate, Henry Hutton is brought in for questioning. Henry's brother, Tony reveals that Henry had been banished from the house years ago after he had sex with a 12-year old girl. The girl then died shortly afterwards in a freak accident.
35 Faith, Pt. 1
3/19/01
Season-only
Sam investigates two different murders while trying to deal with a terrible discovery about her own health.
36 Faith, Pt. 2
3/20/01
Season-only
The results of Sam's tests have come through. It's good news for Sam, but bad news for Sister Geraldine.
37 Fallout, Pt. 1
9/28/02
Season-only
A massive road traffic accident that results in the death of 11 people poses a challenge for Sam and her new team as they search for the real truth behind the tragedy.
38 Fallout, Pt. 2
9/29/02
Season-only
There is a significant breakthrough in the case when a young Albanian girl, Nikolla Shala, identifies the body pulled from the Thames as her sister. Later, terrified of the consequences of talking to the police, she disappears.
39 Kith and Kill, Pt. 1
10/5/02
Season-only
The investigation into the brutal murder of a family in their own home unravels a tale of powerful emotions, and brings Sam into contact with an old friend.
40 Kith and Kill, Pt. 2
10/6/02
Season-only
Police attention turns to Mike Taverner, the manager of Derek Irons' trucking business, whom Jamie accused of fiddling the books before his death. However, forensic evidence uncovered by Leo and Sam following Jamie's death tells another story
41 Tell No Tales, Pt. 1
10/19/02
Season-only
Suspicion is aroused when a long-dead male corpse is discovered in a derelict factory. Harry is implicated in the tragic death of a young student from the medical faculty.
42 Tell No Tales, Pt. 2
10/20/02
Season-only
Sam Ryan gets closer to solving the mystery of Marcus' death and Harry finds himself at the centre of an investigation into Natalie's untimely death.
43 Closed Ranks, Pt. 1
10/26/02
Season-only
A young police probation officer is found murdered on a landfill site just months after a similar suspicious death. The investigation leads to a police cadet college.
44 Closed Ranks, Pt. 2
10/27/02
Season-only
After Sam's discovery of Gabby Langton's body, Carter's attention becomes even more firmly fixed on the police college, particularly when he discovers that Sergeant Ron Allen had access to details of the Ottey case which he passed on to his students.
45 Answering Fire, Pt. 1
10/11/03
Season-only
Sam is called after a suspected terrorist attack causes a fire at a hotel and a government minister is injured.
46 Answering Fire, Pt. 2
10/12/03
Season-only
Gallacher reveals Mary's true identity; a cabinet minister fixer safe guarding Bowman's privacy. When Mary accuses Sam of feeding a journalist with information about cash in the Minister's room, Sam rumbles her
47 Fatal Error, Pt. 1
10/18/03
Season-only
A case that pathologist Sam Ryan worked on 13 years ago comes back to haunt her.
48 Fatal Error, Pt. 2
10/19/03
Season-only
A member of the jury is found dead at her home in Essex. It transpires that all the victims being targeted are in some manner responsible for Patterson's conviction; hence a list of jury members is sought.
49 Running on Empty, Pt. 1
10/25/03
Season-only
Sam is called in to investigate when a pregnant sports agent falls to her death from an office building.
50 Running on Empty, Pt. 2
10/26/03
Season-only
Sam is becoming increasingly emotionally involved in the case. She almost crashes her car on the way to work one morning. She cannot rest until the truth is uncovered.
51 Beyond Guilty, Pt. 1
11/1/03
Season-only
The Home Office ask Sam and her team to examine a time of death as given by an independent pathologist.
52 Beyond Guilty, Pt. 2
11/2/03
Season-only
When Sam discovers that the Home Office used her and the team to muscle out Sachs, she considers posting the report onto the internet.
53 Time to Heal, Pt. 1
9/5/04
Season-only
An investigation into two bodies discovered in Northern Ireland following a landslide leads Sam to uncover secrets close to home.
54 Time to Heal, Pt. 2
9/6/04
Season-only
Harry finds a marking on the hand of one of the corpses which turns out to be the imprint of an Royal Ulster Constabulary badge.The find suggests that the brothers may have been killed by corrupt RUC officers.
55 Death by Water, Pt. 1
9/12/04
Season-only
Still coming to terms with Sam Ryan's departure, Leo and Harry investigate two mysterious deaths on the south coast of England.
56 Death by Water, Pt. 2
9/13/04
Season-only
The friction between Leo and Tom continues, as Leo's professional judgement is brought into question by his rival, Marcus Gwilym.
57 Nowhere Fast, Pt. 1
9/19/04
Season-only
Harry is called out to a death at a racecourse. A jockey was killed when his horse pulled up and fell, crushing him to death.The Jockey Club, suspecting foul play, abandoned the race meeting and called in the police.
58 Nowhere Fast, Pt. 2
9/20/04
Season-only
Matt Gibb, another member of the syndicate, becomes the prime suspect when police discover he has huge gambling debts.
59 Body 21, Pt. 1
9/25/04
Season-only
The survivors of a terrible train crash approach the team to help them discover the truth behind the disaster.
60 Body 21, Pt. 2
9/27/04
Season-only
Leo, Harry and Nikki step up their efforts to discover the truth behind the train crash but there are still many unanswered questions. Body 21 remains unidentified and nobody knows where he was when the train crashed. I
61 Ghosts, Pt. 1
7/25/05
Season-only
When his wife and teenaged daughter are involved in a hit and run car crash, Leo begins a painful journey back to his native Sheffield. Leo struggles to accept the facts and soon finds himself at odds with the Sheffield team investigating the incident. Back in London Nikki investigates the murders of two unidentified women and she too finds the police unco-operative.
62 Ghosts, Pt. 2
7/26/05
Season-only
As the police infiltrate a gang of identity thieves, Leo faces a choice between justice and revenge as he pursues the man responsible for the hit-and-run.
63 Choices, Pt. 1
8/1/05
Season-only
A submachine gun attack on a group of teenagers outside a London nightclub brings the team into the unfamiliar urban world of street gangs on the decaying inner-city estates. Meanwhile Nikki uncovers the decomposed body of a drug addict and finds herself in conflict with a detective who believes that such deaths are so common they are hardly worth investigating.
64 Choices, Pt. 2
8/2/05
Season-only
The man behind the bloodshed pits both factions against one another and the team are in a race against time.
65 The Meaning of Death, Pt. 1
8/8/05
Season-only
When her grandmother passes away, Nikki begins to have doubts about her profession. Meanwhile, the team is drawn into the investigation of a series of brutal and apparently entirely motiveless murders - and a killer who seemingly needs to look his victims in the face as they die. Harry investigates the death of a woman who appears to have drowned in three inches of water - with no obvious suspect to apportion blame.
66 The Meaning of Death, Pt. 2
8/10/05
Season-only
Harry discovers that the woman who drowned was pregnant, and the team gradually begins to collate evidence from the kidnap case. As Nikki struggles to deal with her own feelings about faith and death, her search brings her face to face with the darkest of killers.
67 Mind and Body, Pt. 1
8/15/05
Season-only
A paranoid schizophrenic goes on a violent frenzy in a busy high street and two people are left dead. Then when a young man from the same care home commits suicide, Nikki becomes convinced that there is a connection. Meanwhile Harry tries to find the truth about a teenage suicide's death for her devastated mother, and Leo investigates the murder of a bank manager.
68 Mind and Body, Pt. 2
8/16/05
Season-only
Nikki's investigation takes an unexpected turn when she reaches January House Care Centre and finds that Morrie has tried to commit suicide.
69 Cargo, Pt. 1
7/16/06
Season-only
When four bodies are found in the Thames after a boat filled with illegal immigrants is wrecked, the team realise they are dealing with a people trafficking operation. They set out to look for survivors and find themselves delving into communities of illegal immigrants.
70 Cargo, Pt. 2
7/17/06
Season-only
The discovery that one of the bodies from the wrecked boat in the Thames was carrying a highly infectious disease increases the pressure on the team to track down any other survivors before the virus breaks out into the wider community.
71 Terminus, Pt. 1
7/23/06
Season-only
Harry investigates a hit and run accident on a rundown council estate while Leo is drawn into the case of a woman killed in a terrible and suspicious fire at her house. Nikki examines a woman who collapsed and died on her hen night.
72 Terminus, Pt 2
7/24/06
Season-only
Leo investigates a drunk who died on a night bus, Nikki investigates the poisoning of a go-ahead sales executive, and when Harry is called out to the apparent suicide of a premier league football star he uncovers a link back to the accident at the housing estate.
73 A Body of Work, Pt. 1
7/30/06
Season-only
Harry and Nikki's tentative new relationship is jeopardised when Harry's ex-girlfriend is killed. Nikki takes on the case, which looks like suicide, but Harry becomes obsessed. Meanwhile, Leo works on the elaborately staged murder of conceptual artist Jimmy Triangle.
74 A Body of Work, Pt. 2
7/31/06
Season-only
Leo is puzzled by more contrary clues in the strange death of conceptual artist Jimmy Triangle. Someone is playing a game, but who and why? Meanwhile, Harry and Nikki are pushed further apart when he forces her to re-examine the body of his ex-girlfriend.
75 Supernova, Pt. 1
8/6/06
Season-only
Memories of his own daughter's death are stirred when Leo is called in to investigate the suicide of a young girl. Confusion arises when the case is linked to that of a car salesman. Meanwhile, Nikki investigates the death of an elderly woman.
76 Supernova, Pt. 2
8/7/06
Season-only
Leo races to find a connection between two apparently motiveless murders as a third killing takes place at a school and the police decide they are looking for a serial killer. Nikki, meanwhile, proves that her elderly victim did not die as a result of being attacked.
77 Schism, Pt. 1
8/13/06
Season-only
Harry and Nikki are called out to a dog sanctuary where the body of a teenage girl has been found. Meanwhile, Leo is called to the General Medical Council as a character witness for his mentor, Professor Lionel Clune.
78 Schism, Pt. 2
8/14/06
Season-only
Harry finds himself in the middle of a dangerous cover-up and has to work against the clock to find those responsible. Meanwhile, Lionel's hearing continues, and Leo will eventually have to decide whether to follow his conscience, and betray his old friend and mentor.

About this show

Every dead body tells a story: who they were, how they lived, and most importantly, how they died. Silent Witness follows a team of expert pathologists at the Lyell Centre as they attempt to uncover the truth behind a series of suspicious murders in this gripping drama.

Ratings and reviews

4.7
167 reviews
Karen “Kazsta10” Weirdgirl2.0
October 13, 2014
Love Silent Witness, it is very well written, and realistic. Far better than American shows like CSI or Body of Evidence, they don't solve a crime with one hair, and theyre not always held hostage or saving the entire country etc lol! Gritty stories, gory in places, and although I do because I am cursed that way, not everyone I know solves the crimes in the first 10 minutes. Brilliant show, I've watched from the very start, still going strong!
12 people found this review helpful
Rebecka Pullen
June 10, 2016
Better that the american ones they keep it real and keep you hooked . Loved after the fall seriously thought Nikky was going to die . Hope she is in it until the end
Katie Hodgson
April 8, 2015
Silent witness is perhaps the best show on telly! My fave series were series 10-15 when the main cast were Emilia Fox (Nikki) Tom Ward (Harry) and William Gaminara (Leo). They are all amazing at acting!!!