While working as a forensic anthropologist, she appropriates facilities and software in the pathology department to analyse an Iron Age find, with the belated, bemused and begrudging approval of Dalton.

Dr Alexander is able to assist in a set of cases being investigated by the team, because it transpires that she has "worked in forensic pathology in Johannesburg for six months" and is certified by the Home Office to practice.

The setting changed to London from the start of the fourth series, following Sam as she took up an academic position in the Lyell Centre, the Pathology Department of UCL.

The programme remained in an academic setting until the end of series 16 when the Lyell appeared to have become separated from the university and operated as a stand-alone institution.

[9] There were 632 complaints made about the fifteenth-series episode Redhill, written by Ed Whitmore, which included a scene depicting a sadistic sexual and murderous attack.

The committee concluded that the final scenes in the toilet block were in breach of the guidelines on harm and offence as they exceeded audience expectations for this series as they depicted a sadistic method of inflicting pain, injury and death.

[9]The BBC had responded to the initial criticism of the episode by saying that it took its responsibility to its audience "extremely seriously" and always tried to "strike the right balance between compelling drama without being unnecessarily graphic".

"[11] Silent Witness features a number of notable future established actors in guest appearances, including Emily Mortimer, Idris Elba, Nicholas Hoult, Benedict Cumberbatch, Susie Porter, Jodie Comer, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Daisy Ridley, Daniel Kaluuya, Jim Carter, Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan, Tamsin Egerton, Jason Watkins, Evanna Lynch, John Hannah, and Sean Pertwee.

[36] During the early years of the show, series creator McCrery wrote and published four tie-in novels relating to the series, following Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton), Trevor Stewart (William Armstrong) and Superintendent Tom Adams (John McGlynn), and brand new character DS Stanley Sharman, with Burton generally appearing on the front cover of each novel.