After many months of waiting, Silent Witness fans were treated to a brand new series on BBC One on Monday evening – and it seems the first episode did not disappoint.
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Season 24 saw the return of Emilia Fox's Nikki Alexander and David Caves as Jack Hodgson, and while viewers were delighted to see their beloved characters once again, many were saddened by the absence of others.
WATCH: Silent Witness returns to BBC for series 24
One person tweeted about missing characters such as Thomas Chamberlain, Clarissa Mullery and Harry Cunningham: "The mentions of Harry, Clarissa and Thomas had me sobbing! That truly was such a brilliant opener episode, it really was WORTH the wait!! Well done to everyone involved, can't wait until tomorrow now!! #SilentWitness."
Another was left in tears of joy over the show's return: "Leave me be while I cry over the new series being the perfect hit after 18 months. #SilentWitness" while a third wrote: "@emiliafox @MrDavidCaves Finally you're back. An awesome start to the New Series #SilentWitness looking forward to see what's coming. Amazing."
Leading star Emilia previously took to Twitter to chat about the first episode and explained the hard work that had gone into the new series, which was filmed over the past year amid coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
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© Photo: BBCEmilia Fox is back for a new series of Silent Witness
The actress retweeted a post shared by the drama's producer, writing alongside the original tweet: "Yes, a massive thank you to all involved in making #silentwitness and to those watching tonight. We hugely appreciate everyone's involvement from beginning to end!"
Meanwhile, viewers spotted that fan-favourite Clarissa, played by Liz Carr, was missing from the first episode. The actress decided at the end of series 23 that she would be waving goodbye to the crime drama and said in a statement at the time: "To quote Clarissa, 'I just know, deep down – that it’s time for me to move on, to focus less on the dead and more on the living. On life.'
"Silent Witness has given me such an amazing opportunity to develop as an actor but I know this is the right time to take a leap of faith, leaving what I know and seeing what other opportunities await. It has been a rollercoaster of a ride but I feel I'm leaving on an exhilarating high."
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