SILENT Witness viewers are demanding that the crime drama comes to an end after 27 series, saying it’s “time to finish now.”
The comments come as viewers have branded the latest episodes of BBC drama “nonsensical” and “unrealistic.”
Silent Witness was created by former murder squad detective Nigel McCrery and debuted on screens in 1996. It has been revamped over the years and has seen many new cast members being introduced while others departed. However, it has maintained consistency by keeping its focus on the team of forensic pathology experts who work at the Lyell.
Currently, Nikki Alexander (played by Emilia Fox) and Jack Hodgson (David Caves) front the Lyell team, alongside their trainee Velvy Schur (Alastair Michael) and data expert, Professor Gabriel Folukoya (Aki Omoshaybi).
Over the years, Silent Witness has been criticised for the unrealistic way the Lyell team gets involved in the investigations they’re working on, going so far as to conduct interviews and engage with subjects.
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While the show has previously got away with this, viewers think it’s gone too far this time and have suggested that it is time for the writers to call it a day.
In the most recent episodes of Silent Witness, the two-parter titled Death by a Thousand Hits, the Lyell team embroiled in an international deepfake scam when they are brought in to investigate the death of Burmese man, Mr, Lwin, whose body is found on a beach.
As the episode progresses, the situation becomes more complex and Jack and Nikki enter uncharted territory as they search for the truth. The pair even uncover police corruption when they discover Mr Lwin’s toxicology report has been falsified.
From there, they discovered the Burmese authorities were using deepfake technology.
Unfortunately, the storyline was not well received by viewers who slammed the show on social media.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one viewer said Silent Witness has become too “unrealistic,” and that the show has had its time. “Really time to finish this programme for good,” they commented, before adding, “The plots are unrealistic, and the main personalities feel they can substitute themselves for police officers questioning or doing routine enquiries. Reality might be boring, but that’s the way things are.”
“Wow, Silent Witness is the biggest load of s**t ever now. Two lab assistants break international social media corruption, murders and international assassins,” another viewer observed.
“Silent Witness just didn’t make sense to me tonight!” agreed another angry viewer.
A fourth fumed: “Shocking storyline Silent Witness, stick to bodies and complicated postmortems rather than idiotic global app warfare, which has absolutely nothing to do with The Lyell Centre.”
However, it’s important to note that not all Silent Witness viewers feel this way, and some have pointed out that series 27 brought the show “back to its roots.”
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Additionally, fans were thrilled to see the progression of Jack and Nikki’s relationship this season, which has been years in the making.
Jack and Nikki's relationship moved forward in series 27
Some viewers may have criticised the "unrealistic" storyline in "Death by a Thousand Hits," but its events did prompt Jack to reflect on his relationship with Nikki.
He takes the opportunity to tell her he loves her while they're standing in a cemetery.
Despite the unusual setting, Nikki seems thrilled to hear those three little words and repeats them back to Jack.
While Jack and Nikki have been dating since series 25, this is the first time they've verbally confirmed their love.
Noting this major milestone in Jack and Nikki's relationship, long-time Silent Witness fans were over the moon.
One Silent Witness fan gushed: "THIS!!! THIS!!!!!! IS THE MOST PERFECT MOMENT EVER I AM SOBBING MY EYES OUT”
"Awww! Nikki and Jack. I’m crying,” said another.
While a third said: "These two, I absolutely cannot cope."
"BEST JACK AND NIKKI SCENE EVER ARGHH MY HEART,” agreed a fourth fan.
