Emilia Fox returns as Dr Nikki Alexander as the team tackle another series of chilling cases. 

The enduring Silent Witness returns to BBC One tonight for a remarkable series 27.

The upcoming run is comprised of 5 two-part stories. We can look forward to a body in an abandoned church sparking fears of a serial killer’s return, death terrorising a university campus, and the discovery of a mummified corpse. Plus, a makeshift mass grave beneath a train station and the Lyell being infiltrated by a malevolent force.

Here’s the episode rundown for Silent Witness series 27:

Episodes 1 & 2: ‘Effective Range’ by Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton

Nikki and Jack investigate a murder bearing all the hallmarks of a notorious serial killer. When Nikki meets Charles Beck, the pathologist who conducted the original post-mortems, she discovers his wife was the suspected fifth victim of the serial killer, but nobody believes him when he claims he knows where to find her body.

Episodes 3 & 4: ‘Grievance Culture’ by Tim Prager

The team work a suspected suicide but the investigation raises more questions than it answers. Gabriel has an exciting new opportunity, both professionally and personally, and enlists Jack’s help. When a disgruntled professor of criminology is passed over for promotion, events take a truly sinister turn and the interview panel begin to be targeted. Could a member of the Lyell be next?

Episodes 5 & 6: ‘Invisible’ by Tim Prager

The team investigate the body of a woman found in a flat after being dead for a year. As they seek to find out the truth of her identity and what happened to her, they must draw on all of their forensic and pathology knowledge to solve the case. Even if the world had forgotten her, the Lyell are determined that she must get justice.

Episodes 7 & 8: ‘Death By A Thousand Hits’ by Ed Whitmore & Tracey Malone

The team investigate the death of a Burmese man on a deserted beach, as his young pregnant wife desperately hopes he is still alive. Nikki and Jack piece together the perplexing crime scene and find it poses more questions than it answers.

Episodes 9 & 10: ‘King’s Cross’ by Ed Whitmore

The Lyell are called to a museum outside King’s Cross Station, where they discover the bodies of eight victims entombed below. With the knowledge that a prolific serial killer was operating in London nearly twenty years ago, Nikki and the team know this will be a case like no other.

The series begins on Monday, 8th January at 9 pm on BBC One. Episode 2 follows on Tuesday, 9th at the same time. The rest of the series will keep to the same weekly pattern.

Silent Witness series 27 comes from BBC Studios Drama Productions for BBC One and iPlayer. The Executive Producers are Suzi McIntosh, Emilia Fox and Priscilla Parish for BBC Studios and Nawfal Faizullah for the BBC. Jayne Chard is Producer.

All previous series of Silent Witness are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.