Silent Witness is coming back to BBC One this month and fans who have been 'shipping' Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and Jack Hodgson (David Caves) will see the two main characters very much in a relationship. The crime series is celebrating its 25th anniversary which will also see the return of original lead character Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton).
Viewers who had long wondered why forensic pathologist Nikki and forensic scientist Jack weren't an item will find the two at the beginning of their relationship when the show makes its eagerly-anticipated return, Fox said. The new series will follow from the end of the last series and Nikki has spent the night at Jack's house.
And while Fox, 47, confirmed Nikii and Jack two were in a relationship, she was coy about how it pans out. In an interview put out by the BBC, she responded to the kiss in the final episode of series 24.
She said: "The kiss begged the question of why these two people who have worked together for so long and love each other and are single were not already having a relationship. It threw up many questions.
"How do friends transition to a relationship? Does that relationship dominate everything? How does it work alongside the job? What happens if it goes wrong? What happens if they are in conflict?
"The lovely thing is that the audience have wanted Jack and Nikki to be together. It's great that they have invested so much in that relationship."
Responding to if she and Caves talked about their character's romance, she said: "Yes. We wanted to play Jack and Nikki adapting to the transition and going through ups and downs. That's something the audience will enjoy without putting a label on it. Do they maintain their romance? You'll have to wait and see!"
A key attraction for fans of the series, which aired its first episode on February 21, 1996, is the return of Burton as Ryan, who was last seen in the series in 2004 after appearing in 54 episodes.
Paying tribute to Burton, Fox said: "We wouldn't be where we are today without her. It's her legacy we live with. Sam is such a pioneering figure. Back then, female leads were few and far between. Going into Silent Witness, I felt that there was no way I could take over from Amanda, but the producers said, "Don't worry, we'll take it in a different direction." The thing I feel so proud about is the way the show has evolved. But it all started with Amanda and Sam Ryan."
Speaking of her return to the show, Burton, 65, said it was wonderful working with Emilia: "To see these two powerful characters working together was amazing. In the script, they call them the two titans of the medical world.
"Emilia is just an incredibly generous actress. There was a really nice sense of trust between us. We fed off each other a lot, and there were just genuinely lovely, warm, empathetic responses from both of us. And you don't get that every day."
In its synopsis of the first episode of the new series, the BBC says it opens in Liverpool with an assassination attempt and Sam Ryan calling on the Lyell team with a plea for help seventeen years after leaving the Lyell.
Sam seeks to usher in democratic health care, but the shooting of the Health Secretary and Sam’s husband pulls Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox), Jack Hodgson (David Caves) and Simone Tyler (Genesis Lynea) into a world of duplicity, intrigue and betrayal.
When the credibility of DNA testing is challenged, the bedrock of forensic science is called into question. Now uncertain of who or what they can trust, the Lyell team’s investigation draws them into confrontations with echoes of their personal histories, which threaten to unravel their present.
Previous series of Silent Witness are available on iPlayer
