What time is Silent Witness on TV tonight? BBC schedule - and how to watch episodes early

• Silent Witness returns for its 28th series on BBC.
• Episodes will air twice a week, it has been confirmed.
• Fans can watch episodes early on BBC iPlayer this year.

The BBC’s long-running crime drama Silent Witness is back for its 28th series this week. The beloved show will air 10 episodes over the next month or so.

Emilia Fox is back as Dr Nikkie Alexander, while David Caves returns as Jack Hodgson. The new series opens with a disturbing mystery, when the death of an elderly woman found in a cave has the team asking what drives a person to murder someone so vulnerable.

It will go head-to-head with ITV’s splashy all-star drama Playing Nice tonight (January 6). The shows will overlap for the first two weeks of the year.

If you are planning on watching the new season of Silent Witness, here’s all you know. Including how to watch it early on iPlayer:

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What time is Silent Witness on TV tonight?

The long-running series will return to BBC1 on Monday January 6. The episode will start at 9pm and will run for an hour until 10pm.

Silent Witness will air in the same slot on the Beeb throughout the current season. The week’s new episodes will also be available on iPlayer from 6am each Monday - for those who want to watch it early.

When is the next episode of Silent Witness on TV?

The new season will air episodes on Mondays and Tuesdays for five weeks, the BBC has confirmed. So the next episode will be on BBC1 tomorrow (January 7) at 9pm.

How to watch Silent Witness episodes early?

The BBC has confirmed that both episodes each week will premiere in full on iPlayer from 6am each Monday. So if you can’t wait to find out what happens after the episode airs tonight, you can watch it straight away.

What to expect from the new season of Silent Witness?

Emilia Fox, who plays Dr Nikki Alexander in the BBC drama, has been discussing the new series ahead of its launch on January 6. She told audiences to expect a running theme of “love” throughout the new batch of episodes.

Discussing the first story of 2025, Emilia added: “The first story is about the vulnerability of older people being taken advantage of. It’s also about older people who have owned homes for a long time, and then, from the other end of the spectrum, younger people who are finding it hard to get to own a house, and the friction that creates between those generations.

“It's that division which creates the vulnerability and the potential for people to be taken advantage of. Something that I love about this show is that it shines lights on all elements of society. The writer of this story, Tim Prager, is brilliant as always finding those stories which are very, very topical and give the drama a meaning outside of the show, because they resonate through life.”

She continued: “There's a real running theme of love through the whole series. Of course, that's great, because it resonates with the Jack and Nikki relationship.

“I’m very excited by all the stories in this series. They are written by four of our very strongest writers.”

Are you planning to watch Silent Witness this year - and have you been watching it from the start? Share your thoughts by emailing me: [email protected].