Prager revealed: “When Tom Ward decided it was time for him to leave Silent Witness, he left with the gratitude of everyone involved in the show for the contribution he had made to its success. Although, I’m sure there were sighs of relief from some of the writers, me included, that we wouldn’t have to sustain Harry’s “Will they? Won’t they?” relationship with Nikki any longer!”

He continued: “I kept arguing – and I’m sure I wasn’t alone – that we should just let them get on with it, but of course that would be relationship poison. Tom is an exceptionally talented actor and he was excellent in Silent Witness but his departure provided the opportunity to reinvent or perhaps more accurately evolve the programme once more.”

Series 16 kicks off with ‘Change’ at 9pm on Thursday 10 January and will see the arrival of David Caves as forensic scientist Jack Hodgson, alongside forensic pathologists Dr. Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and Professor Leo Dalton (William Gaminara).

Are you going to miss Harry? Let us know below…

> Buy the Series 13-14 DVD boxset on Amazon.

Watch the Series 15 trailer…