New BEGINNINGS

As Silent Witness chalks up 30 years, we visit EMILIA FOX during filming at the show's new home in Birmingham

- WORDS: MICHAEL DARLING. PHOTOS: BBC

SILENT WITNESS

NEW MONDAY & TUESDAY, 9PM, BBC1 DRAMA

Emilia Fox is excited to welcome us to the state-of-the-art filming location that will now be at the heart of Silent Witness as the BBC1 crime drama enters its milestone 30th year.

Following the BBC’s decision to relocate the show’s operations, both on and off screen, from London to Birmingham, TV Times has been invited on a hot August day to visit vibrant venue The Bond, in the West Midlands city’s creative quarter of Digbeth.

The former Victorian gasworks will double as The Sir William Bowman Centre of Excellence – a brand-new workplace for Emilia’s skilled forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander when Series 29 begins its 10-part run this week. And on our tour, we discover sets for swish offices as well as a mortuary and modern-looking lab featuring a collection of high-tech apparatus.

‘It’s quite impressive,’ smiles the actor, 51, who joined the cast from the eighth season in 2004, taking over from original star Amanda Burton, AKA dedicated pathologist Sam Ryan. ‘The production team has done an amazing job!’

Here, Emilia tells us why she is relishing working in a different city and shares her case notes on the challenges ahead for Nikki…

Are you enjoying working in the Birmingham base?

I love it! Everyone has been super-welcoming, which is lovely. It’s been fascinating to learn about Birmingham’s history and to explore the city’s different areas, such as the Balti Triangle, where you can get a really good curry!