Many people have come and gone through the Lyell Centre's glass doors, but the one constant on Silent Witness over the past two decades has been Emilia Fox, who celebrates the 20th anniversary of her first appearance as forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander this year!
The longest-serving cast member, Emilia is reunited with David Caves, who plays Nikki’s partner and colleague Jack, and relative Lyell Centre newbies Velvy Schur (Alastair Michael) and Gabriel Folukoya (Aki Omoshaybi), in Silent Witness season 27, which begins on Monday, January 8 on BBC One at 9 pm.
We caught up with a youthful-looking Emilia, who reaches another milestone later this year when she turns 50, to dissect the new series and pick over the bones of her ongoing love affair with Silent Witness…
What's the first two-part investigation about?
Emilia Fox: "A body is found in a church, and the detective investigating thinks it relates back to a case from 20 years ago. Nikki meets the pathologist from the original case, who is played by John Hannah. We were so lucky to have him playing that part!"
What other guest stars should we look out for?
Emilia: "In episodes three and four, Kevin McNally plays a university professor, and John Thomson appears as a detective. It was hard to keep a straight face acting with John, because he can make you laugh all day long!"
Are there any particularly shocking cases in the new run?
Emilia: "One of the hardest was the case in which eight bodies are found at King's Cross station. The prosthetics are extraordinary, and you can't help but think: 'This happens in real life — people are found in mass graves.'"
Silent Witness prides itself on being topical. Are you keeping up that tradition?
Emilia: "We have an episode about social media ‘deepfakes’ and big tech. There's also an appearance by a robot, which provoked an interesting conversation about the future of artificial intelligence."
Are you a fan of social media?
Emilia: "I've had good experiences on it, through being able to connect with the audience who watch this show. But now, as the parent of a teenager, I’m negotiating the good and the bad!"
What's the best thing about being in such a long-running series?
Emilia: "It's an absolute privilege to play a character for a long time, get to know them very well and be put in these different situations that create new challenges. But at the heart of it is this family who love working together!"
How do you look back on your 20 years in the show?
Emilia: "When people ask me: 'What's the thing that you're most proud of?', it's very easy to say Silent Witness, because I still look forward to coming back to it!"
Do you get squeamish about cutting up bodies and organs?
Emilia: "I don’t, because it's just so fascinating! I’m like: 'Oh my God, a heart is like this, and we’ve got that inside us!' I’m more squeamish if an accident happens at home!"
Can you give us an example?
Emilia: "Well, my partner [TV producer Jonathan Stadler] dropped some secateurs on his foot, and it looked really bad. Unfortunately my reaction when a disaster like that happens is to laugh nervously!"
Silent Witness returns to BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on Monday 8 January at 9 pm.
