The crime-drama returned for its 28th series last night (Monday, January 6) and follows a team of forensic scientists investigating various crimes.
Fox has starred as Dr Nikki Alexander on the show for 21 years now and appeared on Good Morning Britain today (Tuesday, January 7) with David Caves, who plays Jack Hodgson.
Presenter Susanna Reid asked her what she believed was the secret behind the continued longevity of the show.
📢 Silent Witness returns from Monday 6 January on @BBCiPlayer and @BBCOne
Emilia Fox and David Caves are back as Dr Nikki Alexander and Jack Hodgson as two dynamic new team members join The Lyell in series 28
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— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) January 2, 2025
Emilia Fox reveals secret to Silent Witness’ long-running success
Caves joked at first that it was down to Fox’s presence on the show, with Fox saying it was because of the unique premise.
She explained: “It’s a really interesting idea that you get the clues from the body itself.
“It’s got the mixture of the crime-solving with the police of course but actually the medical/scientific side of it [adds something], and it’s a behind-the-scenes of how crimes are solved.”
Fox was also asked about what it was like to deal with all the forensic tasks on the show, as the characters are shown conducting tests around corpses in great detail.
She said: “It’s fantastic make-up department and prosthetics department and also actors.
“Very often it’s the real actor lying there and having to be dead for the day on the mortuary slab which is very hard.
When asked about how much she had learned about forensic science while working on Silent Witness, Fox shared: “We have learned a lot I think and that is testament to the great writers on the show who do their research so well, and to the real experts we work with.
“The pathologists who are with us who take us through every single detail of how to do a post-mortem, [it’s] fascinating.”
Finally, Fox and Caves were asked about their character’s relationship on the show as Jack proposed to Nikki in the finale of Series 27.
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Caves shared: “Jack is having to run around a lot to try and organise this wedding, he’s the kind of neurotic one.
“He wants to have this perfect wedding so he’s very excited about it and trying to prepare things while doing this crazy job that they both do”.
Discussing Nikki’s headspace around this situation, Fox shared: “She’s just like there’s so much to do, Jack is doing it all and so she’s become paralysed”.
Silent Witness airs on Mondays and Tuesdays for its 28th series and is also available to watch on BBC iPlayer