Thomas is dead and Clarissa is going!
Silent Witness fans were left in bits last night when one of the show's major charcters was killed off in the finale of the BBC1 hit's 23rd season.
Much-loved character Dr Thomas Chamberlain, played by actor Richard Lintern since 2014, didn’t make it to the end of the episode, as he was struck by a deadly nerve agent that caused him to choke to death in the lab. It came as Liz Carr revealed she was quitting the show as Clarissa Mullery.
In the company of Clarissa and Nikki Alexander (played by Emilia Fox), Dr Thomas was examining a small vial of poison that was lodged in the throat of a dead body, when the poison was able to cut through his protective hazmat suit and get into his lungs.
Friends Clarissa and Nikki were heartbroken as they watched the resident pathologist lose his life in a matter of minutes after being affected by the poison.
The pair were forced to look on without being able to help their friend as he heroically refused to let them into the quarantine room in an effort to protect them from being affected.
And viewers were devastated at the loss, taking to Twitter to air their heartbreak.
‘I knew my beloved Thomas would die being a hero 😭💔,’ wrote one fan, while another added, ‘That’s one of the most harrowing death scenes ever on tv’.
‘Didn’t even really like thomas and am completely in bits 😭,’ commented another viewer, ‘what is it with this show and killing off the boss #Silentwitness'.
‘... first you had us thinking Jack was going to die but now you kill Thomas off.. WHAT THE EFF MAN😭😭😭😭,’ wrote another, ‘these damn scientists have a lot to answer for!’.
Others added, ‘Oh my god Thomas is dead’, ‘Goodbye Thomas 😭’ and ‘OH my god not Thomas!!!!! Noooo!!! #SilentWitness 😭😭😭😭’.
Silent Witness will return for at least two more series: a 24th as well as the 25th Anniversary series.
