When does the new series of Silent Witness start and how can you watch season 28?

The new series of Silent Witness is drawing closer and many eager fans might already be wondering when it will start and how they can ensure they don’t miss a moment of season 28.

With darker nights and colder weather here to stay for several more months, one thing that never fails to brighten our days is the thought of some brilliant TV shows making their long-anticipated return in the New Year. This includes the final season of ITV’s Vera and, of course, the BBC’s long-running forensics drama Silent Witness. The show has been airing since 1996 and after *that* heart-stopping moment between everyone’s favourite pathologist and forensic scientist couple, Dr Nikki Alexander and Jack Hodgson, in the season 27 finale, we’re especially excited to see them again in Silent Witness season 28.

Emilia Fox who plays Dr Nikki Alexander has already shared on social media that she and Jack’s actor David Caves have done some press interviews for the new series of Silent Witness. As we look forward to the gripping and emotional cases that no doubt await us, here’s when Silent Witness season 28 will start - and how you can watch it where you are.

When does the new series of Silent Witness start?

The new series of Silent Witness will start on Monday 6th January 2025 and it will consist of 10 episodes. As fans have come to expect over the years, Silent Witness season 28 will be made up of five different stories and each will be told in two parts. This means that going forwards our Monday and Tuesday evenings can officially become our "Silent Witness nights" once again as we tune in to both parts of each storyline on consecutive days.

How to watch Silent Witness season 28 in the UK

For UK viewers it couldn’t be simpler to watch the new series of Silent Witness as it will be airing on BBC One at 9pm on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6th January. It will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and in the past Part 2 of each episode has landed on the streaming platform at the same time as Part 1 each week.

It’s possible that this will also be the case with Silent Witness season 28 and if so, that means fans could be able to watch Parts 1 and 2 of each storyline in one go, or choose to enjoy Silent Witness live on Mondays and Tuesdays to keep up the suspense for a little longer.

In the meantime, you can also find all previous seasons of Silent Witness on BBC iPlayer so you can re-watch your favourite episodes and remind yourself of where we left Nikki and Jack in season 27. At the moment seasons 1-27 are all listed as being available for over a year, giving you plenty of time to immerse yourself back into the world of the Lyell Centre team before Silent Witness season 28 starts.

How to watch Silent Witness season 28 from anywhere

The start of January can often be a busy time as we get back into our routine post-Christmas, but if you’re going to be away from your usual TV set-up when Silent Witness season 28 starts and don’t want to miss a single moment, never fear. There is a way you can still enjoy each episode of the new series with the use of a Virtual Private Network - a VPN. A VPN allows you to change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite shows like Silent Witness even if you're not there.

Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate Nord as the absolute best. They say, "It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express."

Watch TV as if you were in the UK with a VPN
Offering a 30-day money-back guarantee, try out NordVPN, and stream from any device, including your mobile or tablet, laptop, TV, or gaming console. Also boasting some top-of-the-class security, it's a no-brainer. Run into any problems? NordVPN has an excellent customer support team on hand 24/7.

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If you've never installed a VPN before, don't worry, it's quick and easy. Just follow these three steps:

1. Download and install the VPN following NordVPN's easy-to-follow instructions.
2. Once you've installed your VPN, open the app and select your server location as anywhere in the UK.
3. With your VPN installed and server location set to UK, you can now watch Silent Witness season 28 online.

In the past Silent Witness has also been shown via BBC America and episodes have been released on BritBox for US-based fans to enjoy, although there’s no US release date yet for the new season. It’s not known if Silent Witness season 28 will follow this pattern and even if it does, there is often a bit of time to wait. US fans can also currently purchase seasons or individual episodes of Silent Witness seasons 1-27 via Amazon Prime Video.

Who will be in the new series of Silent Witness?

Looking ahead to Silent Witness season 28 we know that Emilia Fox’s Nikki Alexander and David Caves’ Jack Hodgson will be back - and we couldn’t be more excited to see where the new series takes them. There will also reportedly be two new cast members joining from the next season too. According to RadioTimes.com, Rivals star Maggie Steed will be playing Harriet Mavern, the new Head of the Lyell Centre from season 28, meanwhile The Witcher: Blood Origin actor Francesca Mills will be playing Kit Brooks.

Kit will be working as a crime analyst alongside Jack and the introduction of both these characters is not only very exciting but intriguing too. At the moment it’s not clear whether season 27 was the last we’ve seen of Gabriel and Velvy in Silent Witness. Played by Aki Omoshaybi and Alastair Michael respectively, they haven’t been mentioned by the BBC and as Gabriel was Head of the Lyell and Trainee Anatomical Pathology Technologist Velvy worked with Jack a lot, it’s possible they will be replaced by Harriet and Kit.

Alternatively, it’s possible we will still see them at some point in Silent Witness season 28 and we’ll just have to wait and see to be sure.