Will there be another season of Silent Witness, has the forensic drama finished and who could return in season 28?

Anyone wondering if there’ll be another season of Silent Witness isn’t alone as we anxiously hope the latest season isn’t the last we’ll see of the Lyell team.

The return of Silent Witness in January couldn’t have come soon enough for loyal fans of the long-running BBC drama, but if you’ve already watched all of season 27 you might already be considering the show’s future. The prospect of there not being another season of Silent Witness is almost unimaginable and the season 27 finale ended with a twist that definitely deserves to be followed up in a potential season 28. With anticipation building we’ve got all the details about whether Silent Witness has been renewed and who we predict could come back.

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

Will there be another season of Silent Witness? 

The BBC haven’t announced another season of Silent Witness yet, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Silent Witness season 28 isn’t going to happen. The show has been enduringly popular ever since it first started in 1996. Because of this it would certainly come as a shock to many long-time fans of the show if Silent Witness season 28 wasn’t given the green light at some point in the future - especially given the romantic development that rounded off the season 27 for Jack Hodgson and Nikki Alexander.

This plot-point and the consistent demand from fans for more episodes over the years makes us feel that it's very likely there will be another season of Silent Witness but until an announcement is made, we'll just have to be patient.

Has Silent Witness finished? 

Whilst the BBC drama probably hasn’t ended for good (or, at least we really hope not!) the latest season of Silent Witness has now finished. The finale two-parter, Kings Cross Parts 1 and 2, aired on Monday 12th February and Tuesday 13th February respectively, bringing Silent Witness season 27 to a close. It might seem like just days ago that Nikki, Jack, Velvy and Gabriel returned to our screens but season 27 was the usual 10 episodes long that we’ve come to expect.  

All episodes of Silent Witness season 27 can be streamed via BBC iPlayer if you’ve missed the original air dates, or if you simply want to revisit this season's most chilling cases. Silent Witness seasons 1-26 are also on BBC iPlayer now and listed as being available for "over a year".

Which characters could return in Silent Witness season 28? 

If there is another season of Silent Witness commissioned in the future then there are of course two key characters we’d expect to return and they’re everyone’s favourite colleagues-turned-couple Dr Nikki Alexander and Jack Hodgson. We saw Nikki and Jack get engaged in the final moments of the season 27 finale and it would certainly be strange and more than a little disappointing if they didn’t come back in a potential Silent Witness season 28. 

Fans could already be imagining what the wedding of a pathologist and forensic scientist might look like. If they do return and this is a plot point we get to see happen then who knows what former characters could maybe make a small cameo at their wedding? We would love to see Clarissa in Silent Witness again and as a close friend of Jack in particular, she could certainly be at their wedding. 

We would also predict the return of Professor Gabriel Folukoya and Velvy in Silent Witness as they haven’t had exit storylines and have been part of the show since season 26. Of course, it’s not impossible that a main cast member could be written out in between seasons without an exit storyline as this happened to Harry Cunningham played by Tom Ward.  

Hopefully this wouldn’t happen with Gabriel or Velvy and since we had a brief glimpse of Velvy’s wife Rivka again in season 27, it’s possible that his personal life could continue to be a recurring theme, meaning she will be back at some point.

Jack’s niece Cara Connelly is also likely to return if there is another season of Silent Witness as she’s been studying and was undertaking a placement at the Lyell Centre in season 27. Cara also lives with Jack in London so if he and Nikki officially move in together and get married it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll fit this around Cara who they both deeply care about. 

Alongside a whole host of amazing guest stars that come in for each new season of Silent Witness, a season 28 might also bring back a few from other instalments. In season 27 Nadine Marshall returned as DI Sarah Torres and over the years we’ve seen other detectives appear multiple times, including Jemma Redgrave’s DI Jill Raymond.

When could Silent Witness season 28 be released? 

Another season of Silent Witness could potentially air in January 2025 as since season 16 there have only been two series that didn’t air in January. This gives fans something to look forward to in the winter evenings after the festive period is over. We would hope that if the BBC does announce another season of Silent Witness then season 28 would follow this same release pattern.