As the BBC’s hit crime drama Silent Witness arrives back on our screens for an impressive milestone, season 25, we spoke exclusively to Jack Hodgson star David Caves about what’s on the cards (full interview available on RadioTimes.com tomorrow).
“There’s the reinstatement of Amanda Burton’s character Sam Ryan, who was Silent Witness for those years that she did the show,” Caves teased, full of praise for returning star Burton. “She pioneered the show along with [creator] Nigel [McCrery]. Both of them collaborated to make the show what it is and we were lucky enough then to take on the mantle.
“Amanda coming back is a massive coup for the show and I hope the fans will just be so delighted to see her again and have that character back on their screens because it really was something else having her back,” Caves continued, teasing “a clash of the titans-type thing with Nikki Alexander [Emilia Fox] meeting Sam Ryan”.
“It’s pretty cool that they managed to do that and that she wanted to do that.”
But what if things aren’t exactly what viewers expect with Ryan back in action?
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“She comes back and it’s not immediately obvious what her motives are, whether she’s trustworthy. Again, that’s coming at it from a slightly different angle.
“You would have thought, ‘Oh she’s definitely one of the good guys.’ But a lot has happened to that character in the 17 years she’s been away, so she’s not going to be the same person entirely.”
With Ryan’s entrance “ambiguous”, according to Caves, the rest of the team aren’t sure whether they can trust her or not.
“We’re thrust into this world that we’re not very familiar with at all. We feel very awkward quite quickly because it involves the UN and Big Pharma, big tech companies, health passports, which is a very topical controversial subject,” Caves explained.
“We slightly feel like fish out of water initially when we arrive on the scene. It becomes very clear, very quickly that all is not what it seems and there are other forces at play that will seriously call into question the credibility of DNA and forensic science as a whole.”
In order to find out exactly how things pan out with Ryan’s return, fans will have to tune in on Monday night.
RadioTimes.com has already had a peek at the moment Silent Witness legend Sam Ryan meets Dr Nikki Alexander in an exclusive first-look, but there’s plenty more to be seen when the series returns tomorrow.
Additional reporting by Abby Robinson.
Silent Witness season 25 starts Monday at 9pm on BBC One. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.
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