The Jack Hodgson star talks to RadioTimes.com about everything to look forward to in the long-awaited 24th series of the popular forensic crime drama. <\/p>
After a gap of almost 18 months, Silent Witness<\/a> is finally returning to our screens this week \u2013 and David Caves couldn\u2019t be more excited. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long wait, hasn\u2019t it?\u201d the Jack Hodgson star tells RadioTimes.com<\/a><\/strong> over the phone a few weeks before the series premiere. \u201cI hope people are chomping on the bit for it to start again. It\u2019s been a long, difficult old 18 months for everybody, so I hope a little bit of familiarity on-screen will bring joy and comfort to people.\u201d<\/p>\n Certainly, the show\u2019s dedicated fanbase will be delighted to see Jack and Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) back doing what they do best, especially after what was an incredibly dramatic end to the previous series. The final episodes last time out saw the departure of not one but two key characters, with Thomas Chamberlain (Richard Lintern) tragically killed off in heroic circumstances and Clarissa Mullery (Liz Carr) deciding to leave the Lyell behind to \u201cfocus less on the dead and more on the living\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite having a close shave with death himself, Jack is back as strong as ever this time around, but Caves concedes the events of the previous run are still taking their toll on the character, at least to begin with. \u201cThe ripples of that are still very much there,\u201d he says. \u201cJack and Nikki find themselves alone in this big building sort of knocking around a bit. There\u2019s, you know, there\u2019s obviously sadness and it\u2019s a little bit forlorn to start with. And with Clarissa\u2019s departure as well, obviously for Jack, he\u2019s a little bit sad he\u2019s lost his buddy there.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you know, quickly things\u2026 stuff happens, and they\u2019ve got to get right back to work. So there\u2019s not a lot of moping around, shall we say.\u201d<\/p>\n The series certainly opens with a bang, with the first double-header focusing on a case that reopens old wounds for Nikki. Long term Silent Witness fans may recall a memorable episode back in 2010 that focused on a university shooting, and this time around when Nikki is called into a high-security prison she immediately spots someone she\u2019s certain was the perpetrator from that historic case (Elliott Tittensor reprises his role). Naturally, her partiality is somewhat affected in the proceeding investigation, and it falls to Jack to keep her in check.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always good if there\u2019s something very personal at stake within a case,\u201d Caves explains. \u201cAnd then obviously it compromises our impartiality, which is dramatic and fun to watch because the character finds themselves in this very tricky position. So that\u2019s where she finds herself \u2013 Jack is trying to steady her and trying to get her back on track and try and be a little bit more about the evidence, not so much about how she feels it should be. And that\u2019s the kind of tug of war we always have with it, which I think is great. Both the characters like to kind of balance each other out. And that\u2019s kind of a big part of our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n The synopsis for the series teases that Jack and Nikki will be pushed increasingly close together over the course of the 10 episodes, and Caves says that in some ways the relationship between them reminds him of his early days on the show back when he first joined in 2013 \u2013 when he says they were something of \u201ca dynamic duo\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great because we sort of get to go back there and rediscover what that is and what our relationship is not,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone through an awful lot together, and so there\u2019s a lot of stuff there, there\u2019s a lot of material to draw on, feelings to draw on, emotions to draw on. So it\u2019s not just a simple case of two colleagues, there\u2019s deeper stuff going on, in there\u2026 just little glimpses of stuff which hopefully the audience will like and be intrigued by and wants to know more about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Of course, there\u2019s also the small matter of a new cast member \u2013 with Jason Wong set to join the series as pathologist Adam Yuen from episode three onwards. And while Caves says that Wong was \u201clovely\u201d to work with, the working relationship between Jack and Adam is initially not quite so healthy. Upon Adam\u2019s arrival at the Lyell, Jack rather takes against what he perceives to be a somewhat cocky attitude, and there is a certain amount of friction when they work together on their first case. Caves puts that down to Jack being a \u201cnaturally suspicious person anyway\u201d and also reckons the recent departure of Clarissa might have made him even less welcoming to a newcomer than usual.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a bit cocky, he\u2019s a bit full of himself, and he\u2019s sort of stepping on my toes a little bit,\u201d he explains. \u201cKind of what Clarissa would have done originally, he\u2019s sort of taking up that mantle a little bit. And so of course, it\u2019s going to rub him up the wrong way. And especially because his demeanour is, as I said, a little bit full of himself a little bit ahead of himself, too confident. And so yeah, it causes some sparks initially. But I hope they\u2019re amusing as opposed to being heavy or angsty kind of like \u2018I hate you\u2019. It\u2019s not that, it\u2019s just kind of amusing workplace banter.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Jack\u2019s family life, fans can expect all sorts of developments this time round \u2013 with Richard Durden once again starring as his father Connor, a surprise reappearance for Owen McDonnell as his jailed brother Kevin and even the emergence of a mysterious new family member that he\u2019d previously had no idea about. It\u2019s certainly a complex \u2013 and somewhat dramatic family life \u2013 and Caves jokes that it might make for a good reality series.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always have a laugh about Keeping up with the Hodgsons,\u201d he says. \u201cI think there\u2019s a gap in the market for it. There\u2019s no more Kardashians, and so I think it\u2019s time for the Hodgsons. I\u2019ve pitched it and they\u2019re gonna get back to me\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cBut yes, there\u2019s so much going on family-wise for Jack,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s like a real headache for him in a good way. Because he\u2019s trying to balance his very complicated family life with his very complicated work life. And there\u2019s not a lot of time in between, for him to just relax and just have a moment. So it\u2019s great for the character because he\u2019s been dragged from pillar to post.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s lots more to come as well: Caves is hard pressed to pick out a favourite storyline from the new batch of episodes, but he is<\/em> keen to point out the exciting list of guest stars assembled for the new series, which includes Kevin Eldon, Ann Mitchell and Lorraine Ashbourne. And Jack also finds himself thrown into a couple of interesting situations that allowed Caves to explore another side of the character.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a really good episode that\u2019s set in sort of the underground boxing world,\u201d he says. \u201cSo that\u2019s a really cool one. Because obviously, my character is a bit of an MMA guy who\u2019s very into boxing, and all that sort of stuff as well. So\u00a0 it\u2019s great for the character to get taken into that world again, we don\u2019t see him, we don\u2019t see him doing any actual official fighting, but he might get into a little scrap here and there, which was good craic.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the mentality of a fighter is something I\u2019m very interested in anyway,\u201d he adds.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not one by any means at all. But I love it, I\u2019m very interested in it and think it\u2019s fascinating. And so to have a character who\u2019s on one hand, very scientific, very evidence-based, very practical, and then on one hand, he\u2019s a bit of a hothead, he\u2019s not shy sometimes about using his fists. I don\u2019t know, I think it\u2019s a really interesting thing to get duality for a character because he\u2019s unpredictable. I think that\u2019s dangerous. And that\u2019s kind of cool. So I always try and try and remind them to drop something in where appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n Less fun for the actor was Jack\u2019s frequent battles with water this season, with Caves joking that they should have named the whole series \u2018Jack Gets Wet\u2019 \u2013 and light-heartedly lamenting the freezing situations he frequently found himself in during production. \u201cThey\u2019ve got me running into the ocean in the English Channel in December,\u201d he says, \u201cThey\u2019ve got me wading into rivers. They\u2019ve got me waist-high in floodwater. They had to build this tank of water that was supposed to be the interior of a room, because they couldn\u2019t flood the actual room so they had to build this separate thing and filled it with icy cold, I mean, it was colder than the sea this water! Could they not have heated it a little bit?\u201d<\/p> Perhaps the most fun time Caves had on set was in the very final double-header of the series, which boasts an excellent cast including the likes of Sian Phillips, Pauline McGlynn and Nicholas Woodeson. The episodes see the Lyell crew holed up inside a care home after a massive storm cuts off all the electricity, and they soon form a close bond with many of the residents \u2013 while also trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. Caves says the whole storyline plays out a little like a \u201creal-life version of Cluedo\u201d and describes it as \u201cpossibly the funniest thing I\u2019ve ever been involved with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of quite an ornate drawing room in this care home,\u201d he says. \u201cOur clothes have all been soaked, we have to change into sort of old people\u2019s clothes \u2013 so we\u2019re sat round in this kind of slippers and jumpers that are too big for us and stuff.\u00a0 The electricity\u2019s gone and we\u2019ve all got torches and we\u2019re finding bodies here and there, and Nick Woodeson plays this wonderful old character who used to be an actor, so he\u2019s constantly quoting from King Lear.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear from listening to Caves talk about the show that almost nine years after first taking on the role he\u2019s still just as passionate about Silent Witness as ever, and with a 25th series having already been commissioned he says he has no intention of leaving any time soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI love it, it\u2019s a great job,\u201d he says, \u201cI love working with those people. I know it always gets very saccharine and sweet around this time, it sounds like a big love-in \u2013 but it sort of is, and we\u2019re all friends and we do actually genuinely like hanging out and coming back and working together.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just in there the other day in the studios, for the first time again, just for a quick hello and a quick meeting and stuff, and it is a joy to see everybody, find out what everybody\u2019s been doing\u00a0 and how everybody\u2019s been keeping and getting through these tough times. So to be working at a time like this and to be working on a really good show, a show that I really enjoy doing \u2013 it\u2019s just a privilege. So long may that continue.\u201d<\/p>\n Silent Witness returns to BBC One on Monday 6th September at 9pm. Check out what else is on with our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>, or visit our Drama<\/a> hub for all the latest news and features.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Jack Hodgson star talks to RadioTimes.com about everything to look forward to in the long-awaited 24th series of the popular forensic crime drama. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3968,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-caves-on-the-return-of-silent-witness-they-should-have-named-the-whole-series-jack-gets-wet.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Jack Hodgson star talks to RadioTimes.com about everything to look forward to in the long-awaited 24th series of the popular forensic crime drama.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3967"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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